


What would Loki do? - Interlude

by LucyGodwing



Series: What would Loki/Harley do? [5]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Avenger James "Rhodey" Rhodes, Avenger Loki (Marvel), Camp Nanowrimo, Canon Divergence - Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Established Relationship, Gen, M/M, Magic, Married Couple, NaNoWriMo, Not Captain America: The Winter Soldier Compliant, Not Thor: The Dark World Compliant, POV Loki (Marvel), POV Multiple, Parent Loki (Marvel), Parent Tony Stark, Set in 2014 - 2015, Shapeshifter Loki (Marvel), Shapeshifter Sleipnir (Marvel), Shapeshifting, Soul Bond
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-01
Updated: 2020-06-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:00:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 41
Words: 101,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23946568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LucyGodwing/pseuds/LucyGodwing
Summary: "Interlude" starts of after the changed events of Captain America: The Winter Soldier.It's 2014 and Loki is still not on a good note with the World Security Council, the marriage with Tony is still slightly shaky, depending on which Avenger is asked and the world still doesn't know about said relationship yet. There's a lot do deal with and with the worry of Thanos, who knows how much time is left to right all the wrongs of their past, how long do they have to prepare?Note: There will be no Thanos in this fic.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes & Loki, Loki & Loki's Children (Marvel), Loki's Children & Tony Stark, Loki/Tony Stark, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: What would Loki/Harley do? [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1446508
Comments: 103
Kudos: 34





	1. Happy Birthday

**Author's Note:**

> Phew. So I looked back at the notes in Act 3 and it said something about 17 chapters... Well, now I got 20 more chapters to add to that and I had to rewrite a lot of stuff, beginning with the first chapter that had to be added, as James and Loki arrived back before the events.
> 
> I'm really sorry for the hold-up, I kinda started procrastinating writing, but Camp NaNoWriMo brought me back on my feet. Because I already have 37 chapters I'll probably be updating every second day. If you see any mistakes I make, please tell me and I really can't promise to work in any ideas, as I am already so far ahead. I had wanted to only post a finished product, but if I start rewriting again, I'll scrap and revisit it, so this is probably the best it'll get.
> 
> As always, comments are appreciated, they give me life.
> 
> Note (10/10/2020):  
> I'm not the most proud of Interlude and it's a lot to read, so I understand if you want to skip it instead, there is a whole summary at the beginning of the next work, obviously it doesn't go into as much detail as this whole work does, but maybe it won't make you stop reading from exhaustion at some point 😓  
> I'll probably rewrite Interlude at some point (though I'm not sure when yet) to make the reading easier and throwing out trash scenes.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Runa's birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Without further ado, this is the first chapter of "Interlude":

One year. It had only been one year, Loki thought when he was holding Runa in his arms in the room where the Avengers and all the other friends were singing “Happy Birthday”. 13th February, one day before Valentine’s Day, one day after Pepper’s own birthday, five years after the kidnapping of Tony Stark. Five years ago, to the day, Loki had made a choice. It hadn’t been hard, the choice to decide to save Tony, but it had still led him down this path. If he hadn’t, he’d possibly become just another person that Tony had once known.

“What are you thinking about?”, Tony whispered, as he took Runa from his slightly shaking arms and Sleipnir rushed to take her.

Loki smiled at Sleipnir and pressed a kiss to his brow, before the proud boy walked off, to show his sister around.

“It’s always the same days”, Loki hushed and blushed, when Tony took his hand softly and kissed it. “New Year’s Eve, we meet and Sleipnir gets captured. February 13, you get kidnapped and Runa is born. May 1, you’re safe, I leave _and_ get back to Earth, and we bond. May 30, we get married and I get attacked on Asgard.”

“Are those the… the _Norns_ playing with our fates?”

Loki chuckled as he pressed their foreheads together. “I hope not, dearest.”

Tony flushed with warmth at the endearment. “But it _does_ seem oddly calculated.”

Loki hummed in acknowledgement and pressed a kiss to Tony’s cheek. “Do you know what I found, when I checked my phone yesterday?”

Tony’s eyes flashed with fear for a second, before relaxing and smiling. “What?”, he asked, as if nothing was wrong. Loki thought to ask for a second but dropped it instead.

“You’ve been sharing stories on twitter.”

“Well, I kinda had to let them think we were all good and safe and happy little Avengers.”

“Darcy’s advice?”

“Yep.”

“You’ve mostly been sharing stories of me.”

“Well, I kinda am focused on you? Are you mad?”

“What were you going to do, if Hill and Pepper said it wasn’t okay for us to come out of the shadow?”

“Well, you’re my bonded and we’re obviously best friends. Aside from Rhodey, Pepper and Happy on my side…”

“And May, Sam and James on mine”, Loki chuckled with a snort.

“Yep. Could be put on, ‘Loki can’t leave the tower, so he and Tony spend a lot of time together’. I’m just really glad, that I don’t have to, sweetheart.”

“So am I.”

Loki softly tugged at Tony’s arm and pulled him towards a sofa and into his lap, where the somehow exhausted genius sagged into his chest.

“Everything alright?”, Loki asked, slightly worried.

“It’s nothing”, Tony breathed.

“I know that’s a lie, darling.” Tony hummed and Loki softly rubbed at his temples. “When have you last slept?”

“Let’s just say, I’m not allowed in the workshop or lab at the moment…”

“Tony”, Loki said, not angry or upset, but rather worried. He tugged his lover even closer, wrapping his arms around him.

“It’s just… I don’t know how to make it better.”

“What? Make _what_ better?”

“This, us, I’m trying, but I’m not a romantic and sometimes I think of stuff and then…”

“Let’s go out tomorrow.”

“On Valentine’s Day?”

“Exactly. Lunch, dinner, something, flowers, chocolate cake as dessert…”

“Okay. I’ll pay.”

“Obviously”, Loki said, with a snicker.

“We can’t go out alone.” Tony paled at the realisation, before explaining with sadness in his voice: “Two Avengers have to be around you at all times.”

Loki rolled his eyes and took out his phone.

 **[To Avengers] Snowflake:** ‘Tony and I want to go on a date tomorrow, but can’t go alone, because #Rules, anybody wanna play third wheel?’

He showed Tony and Tony nodded sleepily. “You know you’ll be paying for their food as well”, Loki stated and sent the text, chuckling at the chime of the message-tones around the room.

“Anything to get to spend Valentine’s Day with the person most important to me.”

Tony and Loki looked at their phones, when the phones chimed again.

 **[To Avengers] CaptainAmerica:** ‘We could just go as a team. Steve’

A second later, they could hear a yelp from Steve across the room. When they looked up, they could see Natasha and Sam next to Steve and Steve scowling at Nat.

“What?”, was heard loud enough.

“It’s a date”, hissed Nat, which Loki could only hear because of his better hearing, “They don’t want a family dinner, they want a romantic atmosphere.” Nat looked over to find Loki’s gaze. Then her eyes moved across the room and she shouted: “Barton?”

“Yep?”, Clint shouted back.

“Do you want to be my Valentine?”

“Yeah, cool.”

Loki chuckled and Nat looked at him again, before walking over and telling them: “Two private tables and the food better be good.”

“I’ll send you the details”, Tony answered, and Nat nodded curtly, before walking back to Steve and Sam. Tony took his phone in his hands, before laying his head on Loki’s chest again and tapping around on his phone, obviously getting started on making plans.

“So tomorrow the world will know”, Loki breathed and smiled over to where Sleipnir and May were playing with Runa.

“You can always say no”, Tony quickly said.

“No, I want them to know. I want it to come out on our own account.”

“Can do that, sweetheart.”

“Okay, but you need to sleep.”

Tony groaned and Loki rolled his eyes at him.

“Please, dearest.”

“Fine”, Tony told him, and Loki softly ran his fingers over Tony’s face, before kissing his cheek with a worried look. “I will”, Tony assured him. “I just haven’t been able to sleep more than a couple hours while you were gone. And only if Kurt was there as well and promised to look after Runa.”

Loki kissed Tony’s cheek again. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. I just… Bruce has always been there, and I’d been fine before, but I could feel you getting more and more weak. I was… worried.”

“Tell me, okay?”

“Yeah. It’s just hard, feeling safe sometimes. Especially with the whole HYDRA disaster, right under our noses.”

Loki nodded and moved them, so Tony was sitting on the sofa. Softly, he kissed Tony’s cheek and got up and walked over to his children, quickly seeing Bruce making a beeline for the sofa and sending him a smile. Loki stopped next to Sleipnir and ran his fingers through the younger one’s hair, who leaned into the touch.

“How long will you stay, dear?”

“Thor and I will be travelling to Asgard on Sunday, Ma.”

“And you’re safe there?”

Sleipnir looked at him with a worried look on his face. Loki sighed and knelt next to him, tugging at the sleeves of the healing tunic.

“You’re my child, Sleipnir. I have years to make up for. I wish for you to be in the place you feel safest. I did not have the best experience living on Asgard, getting disrespected being the least of the worries.”

Sleipnir smiled softly. “Eir and Frigga make me feel welcome, Ma.”

“That’s good.”

“I’d love to stay here, but… I like studying with Eir, she has so much to teach me. It makes me feel powerful.”

“Alright. But if you wish to come here at any point…”

“I will tell Thor or Eir or Frigga.”

“You are always welcome to stay at my side. Anywhere you want, all that I can give you.”

Sleipnir snickered at that and Loki pressed a kiss to his temple. “Alright, Ma.”

Loki smiled and looked over to where Clint was playing with Runa, like he would probably play with his own children. “Cake for you, Clint?”

“Sure.”

“Sleip?”

“I’d like some, yes.”

Loki looked up and looked to the side, where James caught his gaze, as he was standing with Thor and Jane. He swayed his head in a question and James nodded curtly, before interrupting Thor’s and Jane’s conversation and then holding up three fingers to him. Loki nodded back and got up, cutting up the cake and floating it to the group of three, before looking at Steve and getting a three from him as well.

He sighed, as he brought Sleipnir’s and Clint’s pieces away. “Give her a little, if you think it’s okay”, he told Clint.

“Will do.”

Loki walked back to the cake and cut the cake again, seeing out of the corner of his eye, how Pepper was already walking towards him.

“Four?”, he asked her, as he already cut. Seeing May standing with both Rhodey and Happy, the three awaiting Pepper’s return.

“Yes. How are you Loki?”

Loki glanced at her and his brow furrowed. “I’m fine.”

“Doesn’t sound convincing.”

“I have my husband, I have my children, James is okay, Steve’s alright, S.H.I.E.L.D.’s safe. What could possibly be wrong?”

“You’re not built for ‘everything’s alright, everybody’s safe’.”

“True. Chaos-God.” Loki sent three plates over to Steve, Nat and Sam, before cutting four more pieces. “Most of us aren’t built for a safe life, for no chaos. We got four soldiers in this room, of which only two have known any normalcy. Two are still in constant terror. Two gods, who grew up, killing as a pastime. Three assassins, three enhanced humans that people still want to experiment on, a fourth, that the public doesn’t know about. I don’t wish to know how many were tortured, but I am sure Tony, James and I weren’t the only ones.”

“Darcy is right”, Pepper told him, and Loki frowned at her. “You need therapists”, she explained.

“We’re not normal. We’re not sane enough”, Loki translated.

Pepper shook her head. “You all have problems and you all live for the battle, nothing else. You can barely cope. J.A.R.V.I.S. doesn’t tell me anymore, when Tony has spent too much time awake, but I can see his exhaustion, the super-soldiers can hide it better. I bet all Avengers sleep, but maybe just a few hours per day, maybe exempt from Rhodey and Banner. Wilson isn’t an Avenger yet, but I’d put him in the same category.”

“Thor sleeps.”

“True, but not on Earth and he seems, like he is always working, never gets some down-time. You all need a break. Romanoff and Barton leave, every now and then, get some down-time away from here. It shouldn’t have to be like that. You should be able to feel safe here. Be able to look at your children and smile with your heart instead of giving that practised smile, that shows anybody who’s really looking, just how broken you feel inside.”

Shakily, Loki cut the last piece of cake and placed it on the plate. “Every time I look at the happiness surrounding us, I wonder, when it will go up in flames, how long she has left to live, when they will come for me and rip me from all this.” He handed her one plate and floated the others over to the group, before cutting two more pieces for Tony and Bruce. 

Loki put the last pieces down. “There’s a reason I still slip into my younger self. I can’t deal with… this. Living a perfectly normal life. Every day I am reminded of the normal life I was denied. And this time around I cannot make myself forget again. I’m not allowed. Forgetting would make me insane.”

He grabbed the plates and walked away from Pepper, handing the plates to Bruce and Tony. Loki’s exhausted husband didn’t even seem realise Loki’s distress. When Loki turned however, Tony grabbed his wrist.

‘We’ll figure it out’, Tony whispered through their bond and Loki frowned at him, as he’d never spoken to him that way before.

 _‘I’ll try harder’_ , Loki answered with a confused look on his face.

‘We’re in this together. You can rely on me.’

A lone tear slipped from Loki’s eyes. “Thank you”, he breathed.

“Any day”, Tony answered with a small smile.

_‘We’ll be alright.’_


	2. Be my Valentine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Valentine's day

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I'm forgetting any tags (especially character tags) please remind me

Nat demanded that Loki would be on his floor at 10 A.M. When he got there, J.A.R.V.I.S. had already let her in and she had emptied his wardrobe. To Loki’s surprise it was not just Clint helping her, but James as well.

“Shower”, she said and shoved a few bottles in his hands.

Loki chuckled a little, before making his way to the bathroom, just to see Nat turning to James and talking in hushed tones. He couldn’t hear what she said though, because Clint pushed him into the bathroom.

“Be thorough. We’re on a clock.”

A warm and fuzzy feeling pooled in his body, as Loki washed himself and cleaned his body inside and out. When he saw himself in the mirror, he noticed a prominent blush on his face. This was really happening. He was finally going out with his husband, showing the world they belonged together. With a towel snug around his middle, he stepped out of the room.

Only James was left waiting for him. “The agents are getting started on Tony. Nat said to put this on.” James handed him a bottle of cologne and Loki applied it quickly, before taking the underwear from James’ outstretched hand and going into the bathroom to not shock his friend with his nudity.

James handed him the pieces one by one and helped pull tight the clothes to show off Loki’s thin waist, letting him appear a little more feminine that sometimes made Loki feel more comfortable in his own skin. He was dressed in an almost entirely black suit, with a green bow tie and golden accents.

By the time he was fully dressed, the bow tie straightened, Nat had joined them again, dressed in a sleek black dress that probably hid at least five weapons.

“Sit”, she said, pointing to a chair and opening a briefcase.

Loki sat still as she got to work on his hair, braiding it loosely at the top, before letting it fall into curls at his back, making sure his hair would stay out of his face, but still accentuating its beauty. When she was done with his hair and make-up, Loki was surprised to notice it was long past lunchtime.

“Perfect”, she finally decided, and Loki looked to James, who had watched the entire thing, snacking on peanuts. Quickly the man gave him two thumps up, before Loki could say anything, as he was dragged from his room.

“Ladies”, Clint said with a nod, holding open the door to the car.

“Is Tony…”, Loki started, but got interrupted by Nat.

“Probably already waiting for us, was done with him before I even got to you, told him to get everything ready and tell us when he got there.”

“Which he did”, Clint told them, “30 minutes ago, buckle up, darlings.”

Another shot of the fuzzy feeling flowed through Loki. “Should I be nervous?”, he asked Nat.

“About your first outing as a couple? Yes. But I’m pretty sure Tony is just as nervous as you are, if not more, because you’re a man.”

“I bet they’ll think Tony’s going out with Nat”, Clint told them with a chuckle.

“That could only mean that the poor Agent Barton is still under my influence”, Loki added with a smirk.

“Hey, I’d totally go out with you, Loki. Good on the eye is only one reason. A nice conversation might be a better reason for the public.”

“I’d never go out with Tony though”, Nat told them, “He talks too much and the publicity…”

With a smile, Loki rolled his wedding ring. “I like it when he talks. Even if it sometimes should not be said with other people around.”

“And he makes you happy?”, Nat asked, with a slightly worried look.

“Very. I’m just not sure he’s been taking care of himself lately.”

“He did seem a bit tired yesterday, but he didn’t say anything?”

“Avoided it. I think he’s scared to lose me. Scared that he might do something to hurt me again or look bad in your eyes.”

“He’s trying. Bruce said he was terrified that you wouldn’t come back.”

“Steve scared the shit out of him, when James came to the tower. I almost thought he’d go for Tony’s throat.”

“Really? Steve said things got a bit heated, but…”

“Tony’s still just a man, a man that probably hadn’t slept in a week at that point, a man who grew up idolizing Captain America only to have the man himself hate him. He trusts him, wants to impress him, but he still feels inferior. He might have gained all this extra strength and stamina through the Golden Apple, but he never had to use it in battle, so he still mostly feels like a normal Human man.”

“And Steve attacked him?”

“Almost. If James hadn’t been in the room… He crashed the door so hard it left a dent in the wall. And we both know that isn’t drywall, not with two gods, and multiple other enhanced people around. Even if, and I hate to say this, _even if_ Steve was scared that I failed, and Tony found James, the moment he opened the door and saw Tony not in armour, he should not have attacked him, because the Winter Soldier could have killed Tony on the spot, even with Tony having ingested the Golden Apple.”

“I love Steve, he’s an amazing friend”, Loki added, “but he quickly thinks the worst of even his good friends. And this is not because of HYDRA, you can’t tell me that. As soon as not everything adds up to the image he has of the person, he jumps to the worst possible conclusion. He walked me down the aisle, but the second I might agree with the reasoning of a villain, he’d go after my throat.” Loki sighed loudly and Nat smiled at him.

“He’s a great actor. Anyone would follow Captain America into battle, they don’t even need to know what battle it is. They think he will automatically do the right thing and have the right reasons. People shut down their brains to accept anything Cap says.”

“Let’s hope he doesn’t start spouting propaganda”, Clint joked from the front, before parking in front of a fancy restaurant.

The valet opened the door for Clint, before rushing to the other side and opening the other door for Nat, while Clint opened the door for me. Then, Clint handed over the car keys, before we both followed Nat into the restaurant.

“Two tables for Stark”, Nat said, and the woman nodded for them to follow her. They were led upstairs to closed of rooms, where she nodded on one door, before opening another.

“Two tables”, she said with a smile, obviously wanting to lead Natasha into the room that just opened to reveal a blushing Tony. Swiftly, Nat grabbed onto Clint’s elbow and pulled him to the other room, which left the woman slightly shocked, not recovering quick enough to say anything, before Loki walked into the room and closed the door behind himself.

“Hello”, Loki whispered, and Tony smiled at him, before handing him flowers.

“You look amazing.”

“I better hope so, it took the entire day”, Loki joked, before kissing Tony’s cheek, “You look lovely as well, darling. I hope you did not have to wait too long.”

Tony chuckled and then pulled out Loki’s chair, helping him sit down. “The chef was surprised, that I didn’t want a drink to start of the day.”

“Maybe some wine with the food. Have you decided yet?”

“Haven’t even looked at the menu, wanted to wait for you. But I basically know the menu by fault. My mother and I used to go here, and I still went with the Jarvis’ sometimes after her death. The owner is a friend of the family.”

“So that’s how you got two tables on Valentine’s day on short notice.”

Tony smirked. “Well, the Stark name already carries so much, and Bruno told me, that he already reserved one, after I had talked ‘with love in my voice’ when visiting once.”

Loki snickered, before softly taking Tony’s hands in his. “You obviously know what’s best here, so…”

“I decide?”

“Please.”

“This will be a challenge. It’s a test.”

Loki grinned at him. “Everything is a test in our line of work. I believe in you. Besides, if your mother frequented this restaurant, it can’t really be that bad. Especially, because you yourself speak highly of your mother.”

“Well, she was a woman to be respected, with a father like Howard…”

“Let’s not speak of our fathers. We will make our own legacy, have a happy family together…”

“You, me, Runa, Sleipnir…” Tony kissed Loki’s hand and whispered: “And however many more are still to come.”

A warmth spread through Loki and Tony smiled at him.

“You really do look gorgeous this evening, my love”, Tony hushed, before running his thumb over Loki’s wedding ring and kissing it once more.

The food was delicious, Tony really had gone all out, the restaurant was perfect, and Bruno seemed very happy to finally meet the person that had put a smile on ‘Anthony’s’ face.

“We have to dine here again”, Loki said, sitting sideways in Tony’s lap and enjoying the warmth from his lover.

“If you enjoyed it so much, we might go here every few weeks, because having to drag along another team member is going to become annoying if we do it a lot.”

Loki had wanted to answer but was interrupted by a firm knock on the door and Clint calling out: “It’s just us.”

Tony sighed and called back: “Come in, we’re decent.”

Clint rolled his eyes as he stepped in. “Didn’t expect you to get at it in a restaurant. Or that you’d at least take it to the bathroom.”

Tony smirked and Loki watched with a questioning look as Nat closed the door behind them. “What can we do for you?”, Loki asked.

“Well, we’re done eating, from the looks of it, so are you, so the only thing left to do is the semi-reveal”, Nat explained, and Tony handed her his unlocked phone.

“I was thinking a picture of our ringed hands”, Tony suggested and then looked to Loki, a questioning look on his face. “If that’s okay with you? Upload it to Instagram with ‘My Valentine’ in the caption?”

Loki smirked. “Tag me.”

Tony practically lit up.

“I got a better pic idea though”, Nat said and clapped her hands. The two husbands looked to her in attention. “Lo sits on a chair, you stand behind him, hand over his heart, revealing the ring. Lo’s ringed hand covering yours partly and Tony, you might want to give him a kiss on the cheek.”

“Isn’t that a little too staged?”

“It will always be staged, this way, you get the reveal on your page.”

“So, like…”

Tony moved his hand over Loki’s heart, even though the trickster was still sitting in his lap. The trickster’s hand moved swiftly, covering the other like Nat had described, before catching Tony’s eyes and shooting to close the distance between their mouths, eyes fluttering closed.

“Got it”, Nat interrupted them, “Even better than I imagined. Text added, Loki tagged, uploaded. You look good. Now, Tony, pay up and let’s leave, before the paparazzi get here.”

Loki chuckled and got off Tony’s lap. “Let’s go home, darling. I still have one last gift to unpack, as do you.”

He winked at his husband and Tony called for the server with a push of a button, smiling at her gently, before handing her his card and grabbing the flowers for Loki. Loki held them close to his chest, a small blush coming up his body. Tony grabbed his coat and then softly reached out to Loki, intertwining their fingers.

“Eternally”, he whispered into Loki’s ear, before pocketing the phone Nat still had in his hand, giving the uploaded picture a glance. Loki could feel the happiness rising in his lover’s body and he pressed their intertwined hands.

“Eternally”, he answered and gave him another kiss, wanting to press Tony against the wall and ravish him, but knowing this was neither time nor place to do such acts. Tony’s eyes seemed to sparkle, and Loki smirked. _‘Mine’_ , he thought, knowing Tony could hear it while they were touching.

‘Yours. Always, eternally yours.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, I love comments


	3. Accidental Shapeshifting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki shapeshifts and tries to deal with the world finding out about the marriage

To say the world blew up at the announcement of their marriage was an understatement. At first, everybody thought it was fake, a joke from the trickster. Then they thought it was a grab for power, that they, or more likely Tony, had been forced into the relationship, or, if theorists went further, so that Loki was allowed, or on other blogs _forced_ , to legally stay in America after Loki was cleared of his crimes.

After the reporters were done with that theory, they thought Tony was forced to be with the trickster, to keep him from running and the relationship was a scheme only Tony and the government were in on. The last one hit especially hard. And even after all that, when they finally theorised the relationship might be real and not a joke by any participants, they still thought the rings were fake, or that they were merely engaged. The rings were called ‘cheap’ and ‘distasteful’, saying that both Loki and Tony, on separate outlets mind you, deserved diamonds, being a prince and a billionaire respectively.

Loki was so thankful that the Avengers and all informed friends had stayed off the internet until Monday came, so he had been able to enjoy the last weekend with his son and his brother, before they had travelled back to Asgard. After the fact, Loki was even happier that neither of the two knew of the hate people felt for their relationship.

On Monday, it was across all media, Loki first caught wind of it, when a flash of disgust woke him, and he’d glanced to his lover, reading a news story on his phone. As J.A.R.V.I.S. had rattled off the requested headlines, Loki had panicked and turned into his last permanent form, the kitten, before dashing from the room and somehow teleporting into his office in the tower.

At first, he had growled at anyone trying to approach him, or scratched them, if they dared to touch him. The only one he purposefully hid from was Tony and the only he let finally touch him, had been James.

Loki whimpered in James’ firm hold, as the soldier brought him to the common room.

“It’s alright, Kitty-Cat, they won’t hurt you, won’t touch you, they’re just a bit concerned.”

Loki saw the team hovering a bit away, through his tear-covered eyes. He let out a small sound and James’ flesh hand caressed his head. He opened his jacket a bit and Loki quickly crawled inside, so he could easily hide his face and trembling body, as James crossed the floor and took the drinking bottle, filled with clear water, from Tony, who stared at Loki with a very sad look on his face. Loki suckled on the bottle and James caressed his head again, wiping off Loki’s tears and humming a little, making Loki drowsy with the vibrations around him. Loki shook his little head and cried out a little, making the soldier stop.

“What is it?”, James whispered.

Loki let one little paw come out of the jacket and point towards Tony. He then turned his head to James and gave a commanding sound that made the soldier chuckle, before letting Loki out and set him on the disturbingly high, for a kitten at least, table. With unsure steps, Loki walked towards Tony, who had laid out his hands in an offer on the table. Carefully, Loki pressed his right paw into the other’s open hand, noticing how Tony was shaking.

_‘I’m sorry.’_

“Nothing to be sorry about, Lokes”, Tony breathed, “You got scared. All the stuff they were saying, of course you wanted to get away from that.”

_‘You can’t, so I shouldn’t either.’_

“I have had to deal with disgusting media all my life. You heard hearsay, whispers in the palace, they weren’t shouting it out there. They didn’t dare say those hurtful things to your face if they didn’t know you or your family.” Tony placed a kiss to Loki’s small head. “Look around you sweetheart, everyone here loves you, even if you hiss in their faces or scratch them up, they’ll still stand up for you.”

 _‘Only want you and James. Nobody else is allowed to touch me.’_ Loki meowed weakly.

Tony chuckled. “I think they got that message. Right? Nobody is touching Loki in this form, except me or James.”

“Got that message”, Clint said, with a pout, rubbing the bandages on his arms.

 _‘Shouldn’t have touched me’_ , Loki conveyed to Tony, while staring at Clint and narrowing one of his eyes.

“He’s very sorry”, Tony told Clint.

“I think not. That look doesn’t say sorry. And how can you talk to him anyway, are you like a cat-whisperer?”

“Just a Loki-whisperer. I cannot guarantee correct translations.”

 _‘They should all go fuck themselves with their concern.’_ Loki meowed innocently and plopped his butt into Tony’s palm. Tony snorted. _‘And they should probably do their jobs, or like… tell everyone we’re the real deal or something. Staring at me has helped nobody.’_

‘Well, none of them anyway.’ Tony turned to the rest of the table and spoke aloud: “Hey, maybe you could help with clearing up the confusion, that this marriage isn’t a joke. Thankfully Thor isn’t here to punch anyone in the face for daring to say a bad word about his baby-brother. That could be a disaster.”

“Yeah, we can do that”, Nat said and nodded to Loki, before catching Tony’s eyes again. “I’ll go talk to Pepper. Come on guys.”

The bunch of them followed her obediently, sans Steve, who watched for a moment longer as James, who had quietly disappeared, came back holding a snack-bag.

“He liked these best”, James told Tony and held out the package, so that Tony could take a couple out.

“Are you…”

 _‘Gimme!’_ Loki meowed loudly and Tony startled a bit, before chuckling and holding one in his free hand for Loki to eat. Loki quickly ate and then purred loudly. _‘Hmm… Almost as good as cake. Just not as recovering. Can’t eat cake as a kitten, can I?’_

“No, you can’t, open up.”

Loki opened his mouth and Tony placed another snack between his sharp teeth, a rush of pride going through his body as Loki munched down and purred again.

“Sir?”

“Yeah, J?”, Tony asked and fed Loki another snack.

“He is insisting.”

Tony sighed and Loki would have frowned at him, before Tony grabbed a nearby StarkPad and stood it up, and accepting the call with saying: “Shouldn’t you be in school, Munchkin?”

Harley’s head plopped onto the screen. “If I go to school, I might strangle someone for sayin’ shit about Dad, so I’m takin’ a ‘family day’. When did you get a cat, Mechanic?”

With a meow, Loki waved at him.

“Say ‘hi’ to your dad. Spontaneous shapeshifting”

“Cute. Hi, Dad.”

Loki purred and let his head fall to the side a little. _‘Hey, Junior.’_

“He said ‘hi’ back.”

“So what are you goin’ to do ‘bout it?”

Tony sighed. “At the moment? Nothing. I won’t give them that. And if I do, I should probably talk it through with someone.”

“People can be horrible. I wish I was in New York with all of you.”

“We’ll see you in summer. You already got everything planned through?”

“A handful ideas. Tennessee is boring.”

“I’d think you’d have at least one unhealthy hobby by now?”

“Like drinking or smoking?”

“Like riding dirt bikes”, Tony answered with an eyeroll. “Never ever start smoking, Mecha. And drinking… Be better than me.”

Harley chuckled and then looked to Loki. “Anything to add, Dad?”

_‘Mischievous actions? Go after the bullies and make it seem like accidents.’_

Tony laughed and translated for Harley.

“Yeah, sounds like you, Dad. Listen, I’m gonna do some stuff, try not to blow everythin’ to bits, gotta make lunch for Abbs, she texted, said she’d come home before lunchbreak because assholes in her class said it’s disgustin’ to date an alien.”

“Sounds like you got your hands full. Try not to kill anyone and don’t burn the house down.”

“I can’t promise that”, Harley answered with a smirk, before getting a bit more serious: “I’ll try my best, love ya, Dads.”

“We love you too, Harls”, Tony told him, and Harley hung up with a wave. “Can’t wait for the summer”, Tony whispered with a small smile.

_‘I miss him too.’_

‘And Sleip?’

_‘Yeah, how’s Runa doing?’_

‘Kurt’s taken her back to Xavier’s for now, I hope that’s okay.’

Loki curled into Tony’s hand. _‘Yeah, they’re okay.’_

‘And they have a mutant day-care.’

 _‘Seriously?’_ Loki transformed back into his Æsir form, calmer now, his legs coming down at Tony’s sides, as Loki still sat on the table. “Really?”

“Yeah. Professor Xavier wanted to talk to you about that, mostly because you’re the ‘strange one’ in our family. It’s not really big, but they got a school already and mostly it’s just mostly kids of mutants, some don’t show their mutation until a lot later in life or at all, but even being a kid of a mutant that might not be one themselves, is not really safe in this day and age.”

“I remember those guys that attacked us, just because we came from the school.”

“Yeah. They got less conspicuous ways to get in and out of the school, being a mutant out in the world is even more dangerous than living there.”

“And he’d be willing to offer Runa a place? Even though she isn’t a mutant?”

“I think he has _some_ thing in mind as an exchange, but I also think he doesn’t want any kid, mutant or not, to be in any danger just because of their outer appearance.”

“That sounds alright.” Loki dropped his gaze and softly ran his hands over Tony’s arms. “And Runa being a year already… It’s time she interacted with children as young as her.”

“Yeah. Kurt said she already made a little friend, Sally.”

Loki frowned, but when Tony showed him the photo of Runa with a turtle, Loki cooed at the photo. “That is too sweet.”

“Yeah, I thought so too.”

“I’ll talk with Xavier then.”

“And I’ll stay here and hope the world can stop screaming. I love you, sweetheart, I love you so much. And I’m so lucky to have you. The world doesn’t matter to me, you do. You’re everything that’s important. If you weren’t banned on leaving Earth, which is still crap, by the way, I would follow you anywhere.”

“What _does_ the W.S.C. say, darling?”

“Hill said something about them throwing a tantrum, that they said they had been lied to. She just told them, that it had never been an issue before who any of the Avengers’ partners are, so they shouldn’t start now. And then she gently reminded them, that Nat’s and your quick thinking saved their lives.”

Loki chuckled. “So, nothing more?”

“They can’t put you down more because of our marriage. She said you were doing good work and our relationship had not stopped us working together or prevent us from making quick choices that risked the other. We’re not scared of losing each other in battle and we know exactly how far the other can go. We’re not pulling each other down; we’re balancing each other out. I heard, Hill even said, that without our marriage, you’d have never agreed to come back to Earth and become an Avenger.”

“Which is partly true”, Loki answered with a roll of his eyes, “I bet she didn’t say that you were opposed to the idea of me joining the Avengers though.”

Tony chuckled. “Well, sweetheart, you were pregnant at the time.”

With sneaky fingers, Loki caressed Tony’s face and leaned down to kiss his lover. “I know.” Tony’s fingers ran up Tony’s thighs and Loki felt a start, a moment before the Avengers alarm rang. “Job’s calling”, Loki whispered, and Tony nodded.

“I’ll see you later.” Tony stood and rubbed their foreheads together in affection, before kissing Loki’s cheek and hand and letting him go, moving from the room to not be any later than he already was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, remember when I said I already had 17 chapters? Well, the next chapter gets tricky. I didn't exactly "dump" anything but re-used a lot of the 40k+ words I already had, the next chapter is one of them. I hope it works smoothly together, but I would be grateful for any and all timely remarks if I make mistakes or if the transition is not smooth enough. I will mark any chapters that are mostly from the first version, thanks :)


	4. Don’t Touch What’s Mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mission time

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, because it's been a while, I actually made a mistake when reading over the last chapter. It used to say that "the" alarm rang, but I had no idea which alarm that would be, so I changed it to "Tony's" alarm, but it's actually "the Avengers" alarm. I fixed it...
> 
> This is almost completely like in Version 1 :)

**[War Machine]:** “Okay, guys, we have a problem.”

James and Loki were frowning at the screen, Bruce stepping up from behind them, handing Loki a cup of tea, that he absentmindedly drank. He still wasn’t fully hydrated.

 **[Captain America]:** “I see it.”

 **[Iron Man]:** “What the fuck is people’s problems with things that go on in the privacy of other people’s homes?”

Loki’s eyebrow went up at the comment of his lover and J.A.R.V.I.S. helpfully enlarged Rhodey’s camera. Still, he couldn’t immediately tell what was going on. James was faster in deducing than him.

“Ooh”, he said, leaning back into the sofa and nudging Loki into the side, “It’s about Tony and you, y’know…” He coughed as a he flushed.

“Well, more Loki than Tony”, Bruce decided.

Loki looked at the picture again and then turned his head to finally put the image that looked like a badly painted airplane or rocket in the right angle.

 **[War Machine]:** “‘A new kind of race-discussion?’ Really? Don’t we have bigger problems than racists?”

 **[Iron Man]:** “And what the hell is there to discuss?” Tony slid his helmet back and the men in the tower lost two feeds from him, having to see what was going on through Steve’s feed. “You know? I love myself some big, blue, alien cock!”

Loki groaned and the same thing happened to most of the Avengers. James snickered beside Loki, who was in his Æsir disguise and turning a lovely shade of red, while taking a long sip of tea. Bruce had his head in his free hand, shaking it in disbelief.

“Darling, why do you have to shout it out to the world like that?”

No answer. James and Loki frowned and started looking at the screen again.

 **[J.A.R.V.I.S.]:** “I seem to have lost Sir’s signal.”

“Cap, do you spot him?”, Loki quickly asked.

 **[Captain America]:** “Nope, does anybody have eyes on Iron Man?”

 **[War Machine]:** “That dumbass can’t be lost, again!”

Loki tried to look into himself but shook his head after a while. “He’s unconscious. If the bond was broken, I couldn’t hear, but there’s nothing.”

 **[War Machine]:** “Keep looking for him, J.A.R.V.I.S., Snowflake, we’re going to have to deal with the real trouble now.”

Loki shivered and James grabbed his hand. “Come on, Kitty-Cat, it’ll be alright.”

“I can’t force myself through. I’d lose too much Seiðr at this point.”

“Master Stark, I have alerted Director Hill to the development, she is sending a few agents to look for Sir.”

“Thank you, J.A.R.V.I.S.” Loki leaned into James’ shoulder. “I knew the world wasn’t ready.”

“It could just be that he got hit with something.”

“I would have felt that.” Loki emptied his cup and put it down, before he stood up and pulled off his shirt. “Anything out of the ordinary?”

“Beside the fact that the clothes give you a few extra pounds?”

Loki rolled his eyes at James and the man stepped closer, moving Loki’s arms, neck and hair with a few swift, but determined movements. “Anything?”, Loki asked, when he stopped.

“Doctor? Was this there before?”

Bruce stepped closer and pushed a little around Loki’s neck. “No, I think that’s new, J.A.R.V.I.S. do you have a good angle?”

“Good is relative, Doctor Banner, I can see the mark Mister Barnes mentioned.”

“A hickey?”, Loki offered, and James gave him a raised eyebrow and then pointed to a few marks on Loki’s chest and collarbone.

“These are hickeys, Loki. That ain’t a hickey.” Loki let his head fall down on James’ metal shoulder and the man wrapped an arm around him.

“I’m calling it”, Bruce said, pressing on his comm, “Tony’s been abducted.”

 **[War Machine]:** “He promised to never let that happen again.”

“I knew he shouldn’t have gone out”, Loki breathed, and James ran his metal hand down Loki’s spine, making him look up in swift movement.

“It’ll be fine, we’re gonna get him back. He’ll call, when he wakes, right? He’ll call you and you’ll be there and get him out at a moment’s notice.”

Loki nodded and then grabbed his clothes again, before going for the door. “I’ll change. If I have to go out, I’ll better be dressed appropriately.”

“Better go fast”, Bruce added, “I don’t think they gave him the advanced version of whatever they gave him. So, with Tony’s better healing…”

Loki nodded to Bruce and then ran down the corridor, he took the stairs four steps at a time, jumping downwards until he came to a stop in front of the door to his floor.

“J, get the elevator ready.”

“Already at it.”

Loki stripped quickly once he was in his room and then put his uniform on. Tony had made him another for his Jötunn form and he took a quick breath in front of the mirror, staring into his ruby-red eyes, before grabbing into his hair and braiding it close to his head. Then he put the comm back in and the newer, enhanced goggles, which should help with too bright lights, on, sliding them up under his horns. Loki quickly walked back to the elevator and took it back up, listening to the chatter on the comm that didn’t interest him in any way. He just wanted his husband back.

James grinned at him. “You look good. Looks kind of steampunk-ish. But I bet that’s what Tony had in mind.”

“Yeah. So, I look fine, no need for head protection or anything?”

“I mean, it would be better, would be better for all of you, but the most heroes seem to choose style over protection.”

“We shouldn’t”, Loki said and then smiled at James. “Excited to see me in action?”

“Yeah.”

“J.A.R.V.I.S., the goggles are queued in, right?”

“They will go live, once you put them over your eyes and are in battle-mode, Master Stark. As will the cameras on your shoulders once you leave the tower.”

“Good. I’m nervous. Is it weird to be nervous?”

James grabbed his arms. “You’re scared, kid. Someone took your husband and you have to rely on a bunch of idiots to save him, which they aren’t doing at the moment.”

For a moment, Runa jumped into Loki’s head, what if something bad happened to Tony and he’d never come back to see their beautiful girl? No. Loki shook his head. He couldn’t allow himself to think so badly. He leaned into James, his protector, his brother. Loki smiled at the thought. Brother. At least they looked somewhat more alike, with dark hair and the hard cheekbones Tony so admired. Tony… A thought jumped in his head, how Loki would whisk away his family in a heartbeat and hide them from all eyes.

Suddenly Loki felt a pain deep in his gut and almost doubled over. James grabbed him quickly, as Loki howled. He held the side of his lower stomach and then fell to his knees.

“Hel”, Loki cursed, tasting blood on his tongue, or not _his_ tongue.

“Tony’s hurt”, James informed the team and Loki opened up his garments to see a big flesh wound at his stomach. “Fuck, that is gruesome.”

Loki nodded as he checked his mouth for blood but coming back with nothing. “Hurts not bad either. I need a location from one of the team, as soon as I’m with Tony.” Loki pushed the goggles down, trying to calm himself. It worked… a little, Loki told himself as he breathed deeply and covered up again. “Come on, Tony, get up and call me. Don’t let those bastards win. All you have to do is call my fucking name in your fucking head.”

‘Loki?’, Tony’s voice rasped in his head and Loki got up, stepping away from James, before nodding shortly.

“Showtime, baby”, he told over the comm and James grinned a little, before Loki disappeared in front of his eyes.

Loki appeared in a warehouse, at least two dozen people around, who he carelessly blasted away. “J, you got a location?”, Loki asked, as he knelt next to the armour, Tony’s head still free.

“I have you, yes.”

“Send the team here for clean-up, someone needs to call me up.”

It was Clint who called, and Loki grabbed his still delirious husband and teleported away.

“Shit!”

“Yeah, Hawk, that’s exactly why I need to reserve my Seiðr. Step away. J.A.R.V.I.S., send us another armour, please.”

“What’s wrong with the one I’m wearing?”, Tony mumbled, not fully conscious yet.

“Yours has a blasted hole in it. I think they were aiming for your testicles but got a bit off course.”

“Those assholes.”

“Exactly. Clint, please. I need to work.”

Clint took a few steps back.

“You look amazing”, Tony slurred. “Gosh, you always look amazing, Lokes, damn, what did I do to deserve you?”

“You asked.”

“Everyone’s jealous.”

“I am sure they are. Of me, that is. This will hurt a little, J, E.T.A.?”

“Three minutes.”

“Good.” Loki straddled Tony and then looked for the release switches. “Darling?”

“What?”

“Can you open it?”

“You sure, you want to do that?”, Clint asked, and Loki rolled his eyes at him.

“I don’t _want_ to, but I _need_ to, to get a better look.”

Loki looked expectantly to Tony. “Okay, but when I open it up, don’t say a word about anything going on down there, I mean, it’s _you_ straddling me.”

Loki snickered. “I’d be disappointed if I’d have no effect on you.”

“Oh, and now we have expectations, fuck.”

“Dear, just open up, I need to heal you.”

“J, E.T.A.?”

“Two thirty, Sir, good to have you back.”

“Good to be back”

“You’re delaying, dear.”

“I mean I always wanted you to overpower me and then make me strip only parts…”

“Tony. If you don’t open the fuck up, you’re never ever getting that dream made reality.”

“Well, it would also mean, I’d have to go commando in the suit.”

“Tony.”

“Okay, sorry.” Clint groaned nearby and Tony’s head flipped over. “Hey, nobody invited you.”

“I don’t want to be invited either.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “You’d love the…”

Loki grabbed Tony’s head and turned it back to him, before pressing his lips against Tony’s, to get his attention. “Hurry it the fuck along”, he breathed against his ear away from Clint.

“Okay, okay, no need to get angry.”

Loki leaned back and Tony popped open the suit, Loki quickly moved his hand down onto the wound, before letting his eyes flip to Tony’s growing erection.

“Isn’t that uncomfortable to fly with?”

“It totally is, can you take care of that, before we go home?”

Loki smirked at him and let his other hand trail down, only to stop a moment before reaching its goal and letting ice form around it and pressing down. Tony hissed and Loki laughed loudly, before focusing his Seiðr to flow inside Tony. He frowned for a moment, before letting his other hand go up to the wound as well.

“E.T.A.?”

“One thirty.”

Loki lifted something out of Tony and the two husbands stare at it in shock.

“What’s that?”, Clint asked.

“A bomb”, they answered in unison.

“Does it have a timer?”

Loki and Tony took a slightly closer look.

“Remote controlled”, Tony answered.

Loki healed Tony provisionally, before getting up, the bomb still dangling over his other hand. “Clint, take him out of here.”

“Loki?”

“I will not do anything stupid. Promise. Okay, it might be slightly risky, J, has the team made it to the location yet?”

“Not yet.”

“Okay. Clint. Get him out of here, J.A.R.V.I.S. transport him home immediately, once the suit is around him.”

Loki stepped away and thought of the other place he’d found Tony in.

“Nice present, kids”, he said with an evil smirk, before freezing the bomb and crumbling it to pieces. The men and few women stared at him in shock and Loki’s smirk grew even wider. “One thing to know about me: nobody touches my stuff; nobody hurts my stuff, because everybody that does, will not live another day. The option to hurt what is mine, is off the table. You have families, siblings, parents, possibly even children. I protect mine, so you go protect yours, while you still can.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh and I almost forgot. I got finished writing "Interlude" It's 41 chapters long though it has shorter chapters than Act 2, so comes in at around 100.000 words. I'm most times aiming for 2k chapters (2.000 words at least), I'll be trying to up that in Act 4, moving to at least 3k a chapter, though this could mean I combine chapters where not a lot happens.
> 
> I am also aiming to get the last chapter of "Interlude" posted on my birthday, that would mean that after chapter 20 I would post every day.


	5. Yawns and Giggles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dealing with a bit of aftermath of the last mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This used to be a companion piece to "Act 3, Chapter 17": "Hugs and Cuddles" (I was running out of new chapter titles)
> 
> So yeah, Version 1 :)
> 
> Also, just a note: I won't be doing any smut-scenes for the time being, but it'll be hinted at, so yeah, there's a heavy hint in this chapter

Loki was clinging onto Tony, his Seiðr still flowing through the man. Nobody shall ever dare touch him again.

“Are you okay?”

“They put a bomb in you, do you think I’m okay?”

“I probably wouldn’t have died, Lokes. It was too small for that.”

“But they meant to cripple you anyway.”

“Lokes…”

“What?”, the Jötunn shot at him, before calming his face. “Sorry. What is it, dear?”

“I heard what you said.”

“I was too harsh.”

“No, well, yes, the reporters might have a field day with you, if we don’t get in front of it, but that’s not what I meant with bringing it up.”

“Oh. I also don’t mean to take possession of you. You are not… _stuff_. You are a human being.”

Tony turned around, climbing into Loki’s lap. “I loved that. I am yours Loki. Fully. For eternity.”

Loki pulled him close, kissing at his jaw and neck, before laying his head against Tony’s naked chest. “I was worried you’d die and leave Runa fatherless.”

“The little princess was _pissed_ , when you weren’t here for a month.”

“You should have told me.”

“You couldn’t have come back anyway.”

Loki looked up at him, the exhaustion seen in both their eyes. “I would have come back. I should have, after already having left for months before that.”

“We would have lost James.”

“I wouldn’t have cared at the moment.”

“But now you would.”

“Yeah, he’d make a great brother.”

“And he’s protective. I like him.”

“Even though he…”

“Yeah. He never meant to hide it. He might have been scared, I’d reject him on that fact, but I am very glad I didn’t. The wound isn’t that fresh anymore. I was angrier, that Steve hid it, wonder if he ever meant to tell me.” Tony yawned a little and then smiled down at Loki, who yawned as well. “Let’s go to bed, sweetheart.”

“Runa first, while we have her here. So, shirt first.”

Tony smiled and kissed him softly, before getting up and putting on a shirt, before they made their way to Loki’s living area, where James and Bruce were playing with Runa. Kurt had brought her, after the mutants had heard about the attempt on Tony’s life.

“Hey. Healed?”, Bruce quickly asked.

“Almost”, Loki said, “it’s closed, and I checked his whole body twice, but there are a few minor things his body will do on its own.”

Loki sat down in the group and looked at Runa. “Hey, little one.”

“Ama!” Loki scooped her up and peppered her with kisses, before Tony sat down next to him.

“Leave some for the rest of us.” With a small tug at his heart, Loki handed Runa over. Tony frowned at him for a moment, but he just placed a kiss on his cheek.

“I’m fine.”

“I hope so”, Tony said gently, before turning to Runa. “Hey, cutie.”

“Apa!”

Loki watched the two play and gratefully took the water Bruce was offering. James pushed Loki’s sleeve up a little and sighed.

“You’re not glowing again.”

“I’m trying not to get there again. I still haven’t figured it totally out, since we’ve bonded. How much I can use until I break down.”

James’ metal hand ran down the inside of Loki’s wrist and Loki shivered a little, before emptying his water and kissing Tony’s and Runa’s heads.

“I’m going to bed.”

“Yours or the other?”

“Mine. Recovering.”

“Hmm…” Tony pulled down Loki for another kiss. “I might join you later.”

“Better pack a warm sweater.”

“How cold are you going?”

“-10°C at least.” He got up and walked over to James, ruffling his hair. “That’s 14°F for you Americans.”

“I think I can use the metric system after decades only using that, Loki”, James answered, pulling his hair back. Loki smiled a little and then walked away.

When he stepped into his bedroom tears fell from him. He didn’t even know where they had come from, why he was crying. Ice spread from him, when he crossed the room, undressing and folding the suit up, before putting it all down on the dresser, as he laid down on the bed, only in his briefs, pushing the blanket to the other side of the bed.

“Master Stark…”

“Can you put on some soothing sounds, J.A.R.V.I.S.? I don’t know why I’m… I’ll be alright.”

Music started playing and Loki breathed slowly. “Anything more I can do for you?”

Loki thought for a little while. “Would you mind asking Harley, if he wanted to help me with a present for Tony?”

“Will do. But Sir’s birthday is still not for more than three months.”

“It doesn’t matter. Birthdays and holidays shouldn’t be the only reasons to give gifts.”

“I will keep that in mind, Master Stark.”

“Thank you.”

Loki turned and pressed his face into the pillow. He felt so lonely at moments. He knew they weren’t far away, and they all loved him, but there were still times that he felt lost. He pressed his back against the wall and calmness flooded him. He was safe, he was home. He’d saved Tony. Everybody was safe. J.A.R.V.I.S. dimmed the lights for him and he pulled the cushion at his front, before slowly drifting off.

When he woke, he noticed someone watching him. But as warmth spread through his body, he felt safe. He yawned a little as he woke and peeked up into Tony’s beautiful eyes. He yawned back in his hoodie and Loki softly pulled him close, against the pillow.

“Hello, my beautiful husband.”

“Well, hello there, my gorgeous baby mama.”

“J, temperature at 10°C.”

“Will do, Master Stark.”

Their kisses were cold, slow and long. Tony moaned lowly, when Loki’s hand slipped under the hoodie. He felt over the skin for a moment, testing it and Tony moaned even louder, the nearer he came to his waistband. Loki snickered a little and discarded the cushion, before pulling Tony flush against his blank skin. He let go of Tony’s mouth for a moment to nip at his ear, dragging another low moan from his lover. With a swift movement, he flipped them, so Tony was laying on top of him.

“This is supposed to be your bedroom, not the adult room.”

“Is it still?”, Loki asked, and Tony looked around, in awe, that Loki had teleported them onto the other bed without him even realising.

“Wow.”

Loki wrapped his legs around Tony’s waist and pulled him against him, making them both moan and buck into each other.

“Me?”, Tony asked, softly rubbing over Loki’s horns, making him groan and bite softly at his neck.

“Yes, you. I want you in me.”

“Which one?”, Tony asked, and Loki flushed.

“You decide”, he breathed, his heart beating loudly. “Do you want to risk it or not?”

“You won’t be able to leave Earth, for how long anyway?”

“Far too long to spend the time not being filled by you.” Loki locked Tony’s lips for a moment.

“See? I guess I have a good reason then. Making my baby mama happy.”

“Oh yes. Anytime today?”

“Oh, I will make sure you’re plenty filled”, Tony said, “You’ll be filled for months at end.”

Loki purred loudly at that and the two men stared at each other, before laughing loudly. “I’m… I’m sorry”, Loki told him between giggles, and Tony just kissed him.

“Somehow that didn’t turn me off and definitely won’t change my mind.”

Loki and Tony were laying together in a huge nest they built in the living room, Runa had finally fallen asleep in her room, half an hour ago.

“How have your nightmares been?”, Tony asked silently, while running a hand down Loki’s side.

“Not as bad. Most are about losing you, losing this.”

“To death or…”

“Yeah, mostly. Sometimes I dream I’ll get locked up, or you’ll run away. In the last I get worse and worse and worse, before choking on my last breath.”

Tony pulled Loki close and pressed a kiss against his temple. “I won’t run away. I’ll be right here, waiting for you to get back home.”

Loki nodded. “And I know that.”

Tony hummed against Loki’s ear and Loki squirmed a little, before giggling. They looked at each other lovingly for a moment, before Tony got up and got Loki a box of ice cream, while he grabbed himself a piece of leftover pizza.

“James said, you had a bad feeling about me going into the field.”

“Yeah”, Loki breathed, “But I get bad feelings all the time. Local paranoid here.”

Tony snickered a little, before getting serious again. “Next time, you have a bad feeling, tell me. I know that you might not be feeling all well, but that could have a lot of reasons, sweetheart. Next time you don’t want me out there, or anyone else, tell us. I mean it. It might be nothing and it might be harder for the others, but if it makes you feel better…”

“I am no oracle, dear.”

“I know. And you haven’t had any bad future dreams as of late, because you would have told me, but better safe than sorry.” Tony kissed Loki’s brow and changed the topic, as it was not something either wanted to get into too much. “Jane said, she and Darcy might be returning after the semester is over. Darcy’s getting her degree and Pepper already offered her a job on the P.R. team. Jane might be joining Selvig in London though.”

“Bruce will be sad.”

“A little. But if Thor and she should really come to an end, which Darce said, it might, he shouldn’t be anywhere near that. He shouldn’t even talk about her in the vicinity of Thor.”

“Yeah.” Loki sighed and ate his ice cream. “I personally think Thor loves her, but he doesn’t treat her right. I mean, as much as I love my brother, he _does_ have flaws.”

“And you love him oh so much.”

“I went to Asgard to get his sorry ass out of prison.”

Tony laughed loudly at that, before going quiet, tears streaking his face. “And I almost lost you doing that.”

“You could have invoked your right as my husband to get me back.”

“Wait, I could have?” Tony stared at him in surprise.

“Yes. Would have been legal. Totally binding the whole thing.”

“Did you know about that, when we married?”

Loki shrugged. “Wouldn’t have mattered, it wouldn’t have gotten Thor out, because he’s not married.”

“Yes, but I could have gotten _you_ out.”

Loki pulled Tony near. “If it would have come near my term, Heimdall would have told you, or Frigga would have told Odin.”

“But you would have been here sooner.”

“Yes. And then the court would have ripped me and Heimdall apart, because it was a marriage of convenience.”

“It wasn’t.”

Loki sighed. “But they would not have seen it your way. Just like the reporters, if they’d get their hands on the timeline, just like most of the world. The court would have ripped us apart and Runa would have been born out of wedlock, it would have been a whole ‘nother thing.”

“So, does Odin see it that way?”

“Well, he says she’s a princess, so no. But I bet he thought of the very convenient timing multiple times. Not that he’ll do anything about it, because that would mean suspecting Heimdall of treason. Still…”

“Shit.” Loki smiled with a slightly gloomy expression and Tony frowned for a while, before nodding to himself. “Okay.”

“What?”

“Nothing. I love you.” Tony grinned and kissed Loki on the cheek, before getting up and stuffing the last bit of pizza in his mouth. “I’ll be back, don’t wait up, get your Seiðr in order.”

Loki frowned. “Alright, dear”, he said then and sighed. “I love you too.”

“Eternally”, Tony chimed and strutted from the room.

Loki looked after him for a while, still slightly confused, before eventually turning back to his ice cream and making sure to eat it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, "Interlude" doesn't really have any movies to deal with directly (It will be ending before "Avengers: Age of Ultron"), that's why I'm dealing with a few problems that have come up or could come up. If you got any to add, do it soon :sweat_smile:


	6. Gifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Continuing the thought of the last chapter, gifting (is this wooing?)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Version 1!  
> Dealing with a few personal things first and then the business side...

Loki was working on a watch with the assistance of Harley through J.A.R.V.I.S.’ system, when the same told him, he had a delivery.

“What is it?”

“I cannot say.”

Loki frowned and then looked with a raised eyebrow at the nearest camera. “Do I have to receive it personally?”

“Yes.”

“Threat level?”

“Low.”

Loki groaned and worked in the camera, like Harley had told him. He was not inexperienced with working on technology, but he’d rather have a second pair of eyes proof his work.

“I’ll be right back, Junior. J.A.R.V.I.S., don’t let anyone come in here. Not even Tony.”

“Will do, Master Stark.”

Loki left the room and went to the front door of his floor. He opened it to find a little girl standing there, a pen and clipboard in hand, behind her were two men carrying flower arrangements.

“Mister Loki Stark?”

“That is me”, Loki answered, a small smile on his face and happiness at finally being able to use his name.

“Sign here. May we bring the arrangements in?” She held out a clipboard and Loki signed swiftly.

“How many are there?”

“Oh, we got a whole truckload”, one of the men said.

Loki looked a bit surprised. “Well then, umm, don’t I have to pay you?”

“All paid for”, the girl answered cheerfully.

“At least let me make some tea or coffee for your hard work.”

“Coffee would be nice”, the other man told him, while the first nodded.

“Well then, come on in, I’ll put something on.” Loki opened the door wide and they brought the arrangements in. “J.A.R.V.I.S., help out these people the best you can.”

“Will do.”

“And you, Miss, coffee as well?”, he asked, a teasing smirk on his face.

“Do you have juice?”

“Juice it is.” Loki walked over to the kitchen and nodded for her to follow.

With a bit of awe, the two stared, while the men brought more and more arrangements in.

“J.A.R.V.I.S., look up at which temperature the flowers will live the longest and tweak it to that.”

The girl looked around interested. “It _is_ cold in here.”

“Frost Giant”, Loki supplied and pointed at himself.

“Cool.”

“Literally. What’s your name?”

“Maya.”

“Nice name. I guess you’re associated with the flower shop?”

“My mom owns it.”

“And she’s keeping watch?”

“Yeah.”

“You like your juice?”

“It’s nice. Rich juice.”

Loki snickered. “How long do you think it’ll take?”

“Half hour?”

“Wanna play some arcade?”

“What’s that?”

“Slot machines, dance machines. Games. Do you know ‘Let’s Dance’?”

“Yeah.”

“You want to play that? Only in old-school?”

“Yeah.”

Loki grinned and got up, telling the guys they were in the next room.

Loki had almost forgotten that Harley was still on the phone, when the men and Maya had left, two extra to-go cups in hand.

“You’re back.”

“You’re still here.”

“You won’t lose me, Dad.”

Loki smiled at the screen. “Yeah, let’s hope so. So, what do I have to do now?”

When Loki looked at the flowers again, after he was done, he was grinning widely. He had J.A.R.V.I.S. count them and gotten back it had been exactly the amount of days they had been married. There were some showing happiness and admiration, while others simply represented love and beauty. And more than often, there were violets in there. Fertility. Loki’s heart warmed, as he looked around the floor. He wanted him. He wanted this family. And he wasn’t too afraid to show it. Loki took out his phone and stepped around the floor, looking for the best point and taking a photo. He tagged Tony and put a simple heart in the description. Then he uploaded it on Instagram.

A few minutes later, Tony showed up at his door with a bright grin. “Did I do good?”

“I love it.”

Tony was nervous as he wiped a bit of sweat away. “I was so freaking scared, standing in that flower-shop.”

“I got a present for you too, actually.”

“You do? I… You didn’t need to.”

“I already started it, before Maya and her two carriers showed up.” Loki took Tony’s hand and took him to his work room. Now they were both nervous, as Loki gave him the watch.

“What did you do?”, Tony asked suspiciously, before taking his watch off and putting the other on. “This is one of the camera-watches isn’t it?”

“Yes. Junior helped me build it. It’s enchanted.”

“To do what?”

“That’s a surprise”, Loki whispered and pressed a kiss on Tony’s cheek. “Do you like it?”

“I love it. And I love you, Loki. Man, I’m so nervous.”

“I know.” Loki giggled. “I just don’t know why.”

Tony took his hand with a soft touch and brought them back into the main room. “I wanted to ask you something.”

“Go ahead.”

Tony stared at him and then fiddled around in his jacket, before kneeling on the ground before Loki and holding out a ring box. It was empty. Loki frowned.

“I know we’re already married, but I want to marry you again. And no matter what the media says about them, I’d never exchange the rings we already have.” He put the box down and got out another, that had two cards in them. Avengers cards, their new security badges. Loki stared at them, before taking the box and taking a closer look, smiling fondly.

“I love it”, he breathed, looking at their names. ‘Anthony Edward Stark aka Iron Man’ and   
‘Loki Stark aka Snowflake’. He helped Tony on his feet. “Of course, I’ll marry you again.”

“For all the right reasons this time?”

“For all the right reasons, yes.”

Loki held onto Tony for a while.

“You do know what violets stand for, right?”, Loki asked with a small smirk.

“For all kinds of stuff, I have _no idea_ , what you could be implying.”

Loki laughed a little, before pulling Tony into a kiss. “Eternally.”

“Eternally”, Tony hummed and then swayed his head, “They also stand for several wedding anniversaries.”

“That we will all reach.”

“We will be married longer than any Human has ever been married.”

“Human.”

“Yeah.”

“Hmm…” Loki grinned. “It’s a bit of cheating, using the Human scale, don’t you think?”

“Well, we’re cheating all the time, just not on each other.”

“True”, Loki answered and hugged Tony tightly again.

“Also, the team is getting badges as well, just so you know.”

“But you wanted me to see ours first?”

“Just so you’d feel special. Do you feel special?”

“In your arms? Always.”

The thing with Tony’s new watch was very simple. Loki could see through it, any time he wanted. He didn’t tell Tony, and he never really peeked through it. What he did do, was on the days that Tony had to work, and there was nothing else to do, he’d start baking. Mostly muffins and donuts, small things. Other times he’d start baking huge cakes, but those were for the whole team to enjoy, after he had cleared the kitchen table and had spread the flower arrangements out over his entire floor, which resulted in him needing to find new tables or ways to put the arrangements somewhere that was not the ground, because that was still very cold.

But the muffins and donuts were just for Tony. Loki was nervous about what he was about to do. He knew it would work.

“J.A.R.V.I.S., can you give me a video of Tony?”

“Sir is in a meeting at the moment.” Loki flushed. Maybe this was wrong.

“I don’t need the sound, J.A.R.V.I.S., just the footage.”

J.A.R.V.I.S. showed him the nearest camera and Loki focused on the muffin in front of him, getting a peek through the watch. Swiftly he teleported the muffin in front of Tony. Nervous, he looked up at the footage. Tony frowned for a moment and then he grinned widely. The shareholders looked at him nervously and Tony seemed to be telling them something. Pepper blushed and Tony waved them off, before taking out his phone.

“Thank you, J.A.R.V.I.S.”

The footage closed and Loki got a message shortly after.

**Tony:** ‘So, that’s what the watch is for, do you want me back home?’

**Lokes:** ‘You’re in a meeting, love, I was just thinking of you. Hope it wasn’t too forward.’

**Tony:** ‘Oh man, this is amazing. I swear, when I get out of this meeting, you’re getting a real nice surprise’

Loki grinned, before pinning the next message.

**Lokes:** ‘I’d rather sugar you up all day, dear and then eat you out at midnight.’

Tony didn’t reply for a while and Loki giggled mischievously, when J.A.R.V.I.S. told him, that he was getting extremely uncomfortable in the meeting.

**Lokes:** ‘Enjoy the treats, because I’ll be treating you personally later.’

**Tony:** ‘Are you sure, you’re not the God of Mischief?’

**Lokes:** ‘Nope. But you can worship me day and night.’

**Tony:** ‘God, Loki, you’re making it real hard to stay away’

**Lokes:** ‘Sure I’m not just making you hard? Are you done eating yet?’

**Tony:** ‘First: I’ll show you later, second: yeah’

**Lokes:** ‘Are you hungry for more?’

**Tony:** ‘From you? Always’

Loki took his pick and teleported another muffin to Tony. After a minute or two, he got a reply.

**Tony:** ‘I think they’re getting jealous’

**Lokes:** ‘Well, they’re not getting any. This is for my darling only. The only person who can give me what I need, because he is what I need.’

**Tony:** ‘Right now?’

**Lokes:** ‘I can wait. Can you?’

**Tony:** ‘I will worship you all night’

Loki licked his lips, sending a donut with heart-sprinkles to the other side.

**Lokes:** ‘Don’t leave me hanging.’

**Tony:** ‘Pinky-promise’

**Lokes:** ‘Are you calming down yet?’

**Tony:** ‘I hate working so much right now’

**Lokes:** ‘And you still don’t _really_ work.’

**Tony:** ‘Being the head of the biggest company in the USA _is_ work. Especially when I just revealed that I’m married to an alien man. The shareholders really don’t seem to like us’

**Lokes:** ‘Maybe I should bring by the cake I made for the team.’

**Tony:** ‘Please do’

Loki stood nervously in front of the meeting room, he’d already knocked and was getting more and more nervous.

“Loki”, Pepper exclaimed surprised.

“I bring cake”, Loki answered.

“I see.”

Loki smiled shyly, as he came into the room and placed the cake on the table, before conjuring plates and cutlery for everyone.

“Hello everyone, I’m Loki. I’m the one who keeps sending Tony baked goods.”

Tony grinned at him and Loki blushed.

“Please enjoy, I hope that things are going well.” Loki fiddled with his hands and then turned to leave.

“Why don’t you stay, Loki? I’m sure we can all take a break from the discussions.”

“Thank you, Pepper, that would be… nice.”

Loki grabbed a chair from the side of the room and Tony pushed his to the side. Quickly Loki moved there and then leant over to cut the cake. Wordlessly, the shareholders held out their plates and Loki’s heart warmed. When the first bit in cautiously and blushed after a soft moan, Loki felt accepted.

“So, umm, Mister… Stark… you like baking?”

“Yes. It has become a passion of mine a long time ago. I do hope it is alright though, me bringing by cake. I am sure everyone’s a bit exhausted after all the arrangements that need to be made.”

“We’ve been talking about you”, Pepper said, and Loki took a deep breath, before nodding.

“I could have guessed. Which part of my being you talked about might be a bigger wonder.”

“Mostly your part in Stark Industries”, Tony answered.

“Oh, I don’t… I’m not sure what you…” Loki frowned a little and then looked to Pepper.

“You really don’t know you were the reason we got the Avengers?”

“And that is such a big part?”

“It’s been making us a lot of money”, one of the shareholders said and then nodded to the cake, “may I have another piece?”

Loki stood up quickly. “Most certainly.” When he sat back down, after handing back the refilled plate, he looked to Tony. “I thought most of the expenses went into an account for the Avengers.”

“It’s not the money from the sales he’s talking about”, Pepper explained. “Stock has been rising, since the Avengers have been moved to Stark Industries. Not counting all the new things, we can produce now and the lesser costs we have in supplying all of S.H.I.E.L.D.”

“What if the Avengers were to fail?”, Loki asked, fiddling with his hands again. “Couldn’t that hurt your stock?”

“It could, in theory, but right now, the people love the Avengers for risking their lives instead of others. The only way the stock could plummet from something the Avengers had caused, is, if they completely switched their agenda.”

“Or split”, Loki whispered. “Sorry. Just a thought on my mind, whenever people start fighting. Different ideals get thrown around, sometimes the ‘better good’ isn’t that for all members. Do not worry though, I will make sure that won’t happen.”

“Do you want to share with the board sometime, Loki? I’m sure your views will be appreciated.”

“They… Yes, I’d like that. I’ll bring cake.”

Soft laughs were heard around the room and Loki blushed, while smiling and softly took Tony’s hand in his. It would be alright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will finally be new again (I think)


	7. Welcome to our Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Training

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one's from Version 2, maybe you can spot a few hints that get dropped.

The first training of the Avengers was on the first weekend in March. For the moment it wasn’t publicly known that the Avengers were open to applications, but they never intended to make it an application process. And both Director Hill and Miss Potts were thoroughly screening potential applicants. For now, the applicants would come from the recommendations of the Avengers themselves.

Tony himself had J.A.R.V.I.S. monitoring New York for vigilante activity. Not to put a stop to it, but to check if any needed help or were in trouble, especially with having enough money to be able to pay the bills, put food on the table and still do their vigilante activities. This mostly resulted in Happy or other close friends having to drop off small packages with money in it, with a small message of ‘For your service to this city’ at a few addresses.

Saturday was filled with tests. A lot of tests. Every Avenger and potential Avenger, in this case only Sam and James, had to go through a thorough physical and mental health-check, as well as getting tested with multiple guns, Clint’s bow, Steve’s shield and Nat’s widow bites. Everybody even got to test out one of Tony’s gauntlets and Loki let them experiment with one of his knifes.

By the evening the participants were exhausted, even the enhanced ones and they went to sleep, only to be woken at 4 A.M. by Hill for a training session. Loki had to battle Thor, James and Clint were seeing who the better sniper was, while Tony and Rhodey were doing an obstacle course out of their suits against Sam and Nat. At the same time Steve and Hulk were checking who could lift more. Currently, Hulk was lifting a truck with ease as he chuckled at the ‘puny car’ that Steve was holding up. Loki had almost missed the punch Thor was throwing as he admired how happy the big green guy seemed.

“Do not become distracted, Brother, it leaves you open.” Thor was using a sword instead of Mjølnir, as he battled Loki who still relied on his twin daggers at the moment. They both knew, they could switch to deadlier weapons in a blink of an eye.

“I just love the joviality our shield-brothers are portraying, while in the midst of training. They are pushed to their absolute…”, Loki side-stepped Thor and let a dagger run down the side of his brother’s armour, reminding him, he was too close, before continuing: “best and they still feel joy, content at the activities. It is, as if these are merely normal afternoon activities and we are enjoying them as a family.”

“Is that what this is about? Us finally sharing shield-brothers again? Have I not given you enough time in my packed itinerary?”

“The four were always _your_ shield-brothers. I was merely an accoutrement. I was tolerated at best, only carried along as I was your brother.”

“And these”, Thor made a movement with his sword hand pointing across the room, “are not just tolerating you?”

Loki knew Thor was teasing him, was trying to rile him up, to doubt his station with the team. “I am the cornerstone of their family.” Loki liked over his lips and stood in an aggressive stance. “They would go to war for me.”

“Have they not already?”, Thor countered and took a second sword from his back, mirroring Loki’s stance.

Loki grinned mischievously and they started at each other, before Loki slipped low and Thor in turn jumped out if his range, not expecting Loki to throw the daggers into his upper arms. The older brother landed with a howl, making all Avengers turn to them, to see Loki constrain him with multiple more daggers and finally pinning him with his Seiðr. With an almost evil smirk, Loki pressed his knee into Thor’s breastplate and lifted a dagger under Thor’s chin.

“Like a pig for slaughter”, he hissed, licking over his teeth, before switching his demeanour and taking out his daggers and healing his brother in the process. “No need to show off your bare arms, Brother, it only leaves you more vulnerable.”

With laughter, Thor pressed Loki close in a crushing hug and rolled them, so that Loki ended up under him. Then, Thor stood with a bright smile and held up Loki at his ankle and called out: “I have caught the snake, my friends.”

Protesting, Loki wriggled, before eventually turning into just that and slipping from Thor’s grasp to curl around his neck and transform into a much larger and stronger snake and attempt to choke him.

“Alright”, Thor gasped, “I give up, Brother, you have won.” When Thor’s eyes rolled back into his head, Loki finally let loose and caught his brother, throwing the unconscious body over his shoulder.

“What?”, Loki asked and shrugged with his free shoulder, “I already defeated him, he should not have attempted to overpower me.”

“You could have _killed_ him, Loki”, Steve argued, clearly upset.

“I would not.” Loki shifted Thor on his shoulder, who let out a small groan.

“You went too far”, Rhodey told him, agreeing with Steve.

“I will not let my family come to serious harm. I have done worse when we were children, surely Tony can attest to that.”

Tony held up his hands. “Leave me out of this argument, honey, I love you, but that was too far, he tapped out.”

Loki growled into Tony’s direction, seeing the other man pale for a second. “You dare stand against me?”

“Baby, I love you being all godlike and powerful, but there are rules. Thor tapped out. I know that on Asgard you fight till exhaustion, but you know Earth’s rules just as well. It was a friendly spar and here on Earth, that usually means you can tap out.”

“It was only fair to use dishonest fighting when he dared to use it first.”

Tony stepped close and laid his hand Loki’s side. “Baby, Lokes, sweetheart, what’s got you so riled up?”, he whispered.

Loki evaded his gaze and then teleported away, taking Tony with him as he moved. With a huff, he put Thor down on a bench at the side of the training grounds, conjuring a pillow under his head and a light blanket over his body. Then he left him there, turning away, Tony following at his side.

“Talk to me, Lokes, why are you upset? Everything was alright, all day, all weekend and then you suddenly blanked in the middle of the fight. Mischief yeah, that’s normal, but you turned actually angry while around his neck. You blanked and don’t want to say it.”

Loki shrugged. “I… realised when he said that, when he gave up… I just… and then his eyes were already rolling back. I thought, one more second so he will freak out, think I won’t let him go, so it will be a lesson to never trick the Trickster…”

Tony grabbed his arm and turned Loki, his one hand automatically moving towards his lover’s cheek and rubbing over the cheekbone in a caress. “You blanked.”

“I will not apologise for this. I will not let them think me unstable. Loki is crazy and does things others wouldn’t, but Loki never loses control.”

“Only that once.”

“Never again.”

Tony pressed a soft kiss on Loki’s cheek. “That’s not the only thing that’s got you upset though.”

“I thought I would be pregnant by now”, Loki hissed and looked away again, afraid for the rejection, for the anger.

“It’s barely been two weeks.”

“I felt Runa after the first, suckling on my Seiðr.”

“Because you were already low, you could barely do a single spell. We’re making sure you get your power up faster, depleting it less. Don’t worry, sweetheart, you’ll get pregnant again.”

Steve coughed a few meters away and the pair looked at the super soldier, who had jogged up to them and promptly turned red. Embarrassed, Steve ran a hand through his hair and walked the last few meters.

“Sorry. You’re umm… trying again?”

“Can you keep it on the down low for the time being?”, Tony asked, quietly. Steve nodded quickly.

“Is that why you’re…”

“Acting up? You think me upset at the fact that I have not been able to achieve what I want yet? You believe I would let it affect my performance? No. I have my outbursts perfectly under control. Spite, anger does not affect my ability to fight. It might affect my judgment, but you will not see angry flares of Seiðr flowing from me, destroying everything in its path. I would not be a seasoned warrior if I would let that happen.”

Loki started walking again, toward the awaiting team, before speaking a bit louder: “It was but a lack of judgment, it will not happen again. Brother will be fine. We have been through worse. I only do things I know that he can take. I may have gone slightly overboard.” Loki clasped Rhodey’s shoulder. “Friend, commander, I promise to never use such powers on a mere Mortal.”

Rhodey rolled his eyes at him. “Don’t use Thor-speak on me. Just be more careful next time.”

Loki smiled reassuringly. “Tony will keep me in check.”

“So?”, Tony asked, nervously fiddling with his shirt.

The Avengers stood in front of Director Hill with her obnoxious clipboard. Thor had woken and upon realising most of the others were angry with Loki for his actions, grasped the other and not let him go yet, showing everyone that he still loved his baby brother despite Loki having strangled him.

“Good news first?”, she asked and looked towards Rhodey.

“Bad news first”, the other decided.

“Alright. Bad news then. Bad news, we’ll be putting three people as passive Avengers, only when really necessary.”

“And the good news?”, Rhodey asked, putting his arm around his friend.

“Good news, you’ll be getting two more Avengers, and nobody is getting fired.”

Tony visibly relaxed at that, sinking into Rhodey’s side.

“Who’s getting passive?”, Steve wanted to know, already folding his arms, as if he wanted to take on the results.

“Well, Bruce, for one. You got homework, working on cooperating with the Hulk.”

“Yes, Madam.” Bruce nodded.

“Loki is passive too.”

“But Brother has”, Thor started, but stopped, when Loki elbowed him in the gut.

“Loki has a bunch of enemies out there. Only reason we are not taking Tony out too is because he’s got a fast-working mind that helps in tricky situations and he has a better standing with citizens than Loki. Loki won’t be working any civilian callouts unless completely necessary. We’re trying to make sure not both Stark’s go out at the same time, so Loki will be a last resort.”

“For Runa”, Loki deduced and nodded.

“Exactly. And Sleipnir. Not because you’re their mother, but because people would more quickly go after you with a killing force in a hate crime, than Tony, the hero that saved Earth, especially New York. Loki, you’re the last resort, a force to be reckoned with. And you’re our only healer at the moment.”

“Still not a healer”, Loki answered with a knowing smirk, “But do go on, I love compliments.”

“Basically, Loki’s the secret weapon?”, Tony asked Hill, who nodded.

“Who’s the last one”, Steve wanted to know.

“I am”, James answered, from the other side of the group, standing as far away from Steve as he could.

“But…”

“And I won’t be taking on HYDRA. They still got stuff they can use against me. I’ll be, and already _am_ , giving intel on bases that I was at, people that I met, but I will not step in front of anyone associated with HYDRA in my lifetime ever again, if I can. This is not up for discussion.”

Steve sighed, but Rhodey nodded. “Good to have you on the team, James. And of course, Sam, congratulations.”

“So, what’s the tradition after a good day of workout?”, Sam asked.

“A nice hot bath?”, Tony asked and everyone except Loki seemed to sigh in mutual content.

“A box of ice cream”, Loki decided instead and laughed, when everybody groaned and rolled their eyes at him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> James is a bit wary of Steve, but that will fade. I hope it kinda gradually fades, but that's the biggest problem with merging the two versions


	8. Tell the World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Press conference

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was rewritten heavily, but technically was a part of version 1.
> 
> I changed a bunch of stuff before posting, because I realized, that not all people would willingly show their face and let everyone know their name. I have somehow ended up having to deal with the accords in Act 4 and realized it might work better if not all Avengers actually want to show who is under the mask.

People had wanted to get Tony and Loki for statements since Valentine’s Day. Back then, the P.R. team only confirmed that they were indeed married and the two had been able to stay out of the spotlight in the weeks after. Now though all Avengers were at the press conference, a week after their training session.

Tony had made sure that the P.R. team had told the media that the only man Tony was ‘gay’ for, was Loki and Loki had reluctantly told them, that to him it didn’t matter what gender his lover had, but rather what kind of person they were. Still, because it was to be expected, Loki had been talked into answering a few questions from the reporters that always reported on their missions. To Loki that was the best possible option, as they wanted him to talk, but he surely wouldn’t do an interview. He had refused, every time the P.R. team asked, even when they sent Tony with the question. Tony had told him, the questions the team had gotten were overall normal and the people that had wanted to ask more than a question on the side about Norse Mythology, had quickly landed on the ‘forever reject’-pile.

Tony was excited, that Loki was going to answer questions. Loki, on the other hand, was nervous. There were several bad questions. He knew reporters to be bold, but these would at least not go into terrible territory, as that could potentially get them banned from any future press conferences.

“I am not doing it if you will hover around me or start answering my questions”, Loki told Tony backstage.

“Okay, okay, holding back.”

“You’ll know when I can’t take it anymore, dear.”

“Yeah.”

Loki softly pressed a kiss on his cheek. “Thank you for letting me do it my way.”

“Always.”

When Pepper and Hill walked on stage together the Avengers, without Sam and James yet, followed them, taking their places at the table, for some more difficult than for others as all Avengers, except Bruce were wearing their gear. Tony and Loki were not seated together. Tony was seated next to Rhodey and Bruce at one end of the table, while Loki was in between Thor and Clint. Hill talked about the changes for the Avengers, it was all buzz for Loki and Clint looked a little concerned at his side.

When the two new Avengers were introduced, Loki quickly stood, as James had not wanted to be welcomed by Steve. He hugged him closely and Clint gave the assassin his place, while Sam was seated between Steve and Nat. The Falcon did not want to give his name to the public, for his privacy. Obviously the press had a lot of questions to the friendship, they had known from the history books, but Steve dutifully answered “No comment” to all those questions.

Pepper then announced a few things on the technical side of the Avengers, announcing that the team behind the scene would be expanding and they were now taking applications for those positions. As the time moved on, Loki started fiddling with his hands, which led to James grabbing his wrist with his metal hand and rolling his eyes a little.

“Sorry”, Loki whispered.

“And we got another little surprise for you”, Rhodey told the reporters, “I know we didn’t announce it, but that was because the person requested it not to be announced. Loki will answer a few of your questions.”

James let him go and Loki paled a little, before arranging his microphone. “Umm, yeah, hit me.” His eyes flashed to Thor, who was already reaching out. “Not physically, Brother, geez.” He laughed a little and then sent the reporters a smile, before pointing at a man in the front.

“How long have you known Tony Stark?”

“Since early 2009, technically it was New Year’s Eve though.” He nodded to a woman.

“When did you get married?”

“2012.”

“Where were you for those three years?”

“Well, two of those, I was getting tortured in space. The first I was denying my attraction to him, while being on Asgard.” The reporter who asked, coughed a little and flushed with embarrassment.

“Have you always loved men?”

“I have never felt the need to tell anyone who I felt attracted to, but love I have only felt for Tony.”

“So, you don’t see gender?”

Loki laughed a little. “To me personally it is not a matter of woman or man, that’s the beauty of being a shapeshifter. Whether I am man or woman, or my partner is, the personality is what counts. Of course, biologically it makes a difference, my DNA will not change, if I change my appearance. But whether I am a woman or a man, only makes a difference for me and should not make one for my partner.”

“So, are you a man or a woman then?”

“Right now?” Loki smirked. “A man. Doesn’t change if I put on a dress or a suit. I grew up in my male form and associate myself with it. Putting on a female guise for you would just feel wrong, would feel like theatre.”

“Why don’t we see you in your blue skin anymore?”

“Same reasoning I’d guess. I grew up in an Æsir, an Asgardian form and only saw my Jötunn skin in, uhm, 2010 would be the Christian year for it.”

“How old are you?”

“Oh, wow, umm, both me and Thor”, Loki started, clasping Thor’s shoulder for a moment, steading himself with the action before continuing, “are over a thousand years old, he is the older one, my exact birthdate is unknown, but we grew up together, celebrated our early birthdays together.”

“What is your age in human years?”

“Norns, I should have known that was going to come, if the other question came. There are a few things to consider. I don’t know any Æsir who would compare lifespans. We can grow over five thousand years old, while humans, nowadays, grow up to eighty, which would make us eighteen, at most. If you compare maturity, Æsir are adults at twenty and considered mature at one hundred. If you want to know if I am legal, yes, in any way that is important. If you want to know how old to put me, you might want to look at the mental age. Mine lies between twenty-five and thirty, compared to an average human.”

There were murmurs and Loki got a bit worried, that he had now made Tony look bad, look like he was taking advantage of him. After a few minutes the murmuring subsided.

“Do you regret attacking New York?”

For a moment Loki frowned, forcing himself not to turn and look for help in any of the other Avengers. “I regret all the things that can be put on my shoulders. My voyage to Earth was not in good heart that day. Though my actions taken were horrifying to say the least, I was not in full control of my own crippled mind and body at that time. For the operations that were done with sane mind, I will take complete responsibility for. I still hate knowing lives were lost and wished I’d have been able to save them from the terrible outcome of those days. I will always have those lives on my list, by being the one who’d slain them, even if not personally. My hands might not be drenched in their blood, but their lives were still lost after my actions.”

The reporters frowned a little and Loki heard another microphone turn on. James flicked Loki’s microphone off, as Rhodey spoke: “I think, that’s enough.”

Loki leaned back in his chair, shaking, his fists clenching and unclenching under the table, he didn’t even notice Rhodey’s closing words, before chairs moved and he moved with the team, like a puppet on strings, standing in front of James, having turned away from the reporters, but not moving further. He didn’t even realise, that James was whispering to him, until his metal hand pushed his chin up to look into his eyes.

“It’s okay, Loki, you did well.”

“I did?”

“Yeah. Answered the questions, didn’t raise your voice, took responsibility…”

“I’m just making excuses.”

James grinned a little and shoved him slightly. “You’re better than excuses. You don’t want them to think it was a fairy tale and that you had absolutely no control. We both know it was still something we did. I didn’t know any better and you tried very hard not to make it worse, but it was still us. And we both got out, we’re both safe. Just like Clint over there.”

James put his heavier hand on his shoulder and Loki leaned into the touch, before carefully feeling for Tony’s hand, who had stepped near them, and smiling at the man.

“Hey, sweetheart.”

“Hello, dear.”

“Getting better?” Loki nodded. “Good, because I wanted to hack the electronics and turn the microphones, cameras and lights off at least three times.”

Loki giggled and Tony and James visibly relaxed. “There were probably more questions. Questions I didn’t answer.”

“You don’t have to answer every question”, James told him, and Loki nodded for a moment.

“Then I’d lose my whole mystery.”

“Oh, what a horror”, Tony joked, and Loki looked to turn at the reporters leaving, before sneaking a quick peck on Tony’s cheek, making him blush. Loki grinned a little and slightly protested, when James turned him and walked him out of the room with two strong hands on his shoulders.

“What was that for?”, Loki asked, when they were out of the room.

“They were going to stare again, and while you might feel comfortable sharing your affections, I believe an Avengers press conference is not the right place for paparazzi pics. They only got one photo to choose from at the moment, you should wait with showing such affection in public until the media is not as eager about your relationship.”

“You think so?”

“Yes.” Before Loki could slip out of his grasp, James threw him over his metal shoulder, making the people walking behind them laugh out a little.

“Come one, somebody. Tony? You agree with him?”

“I already got a plan for a whole photoshoot.”

“Oh, darn it, is nobody on my side?”

“If it were up to me”, Nat said, “You could overshare as much as you want, as long as they don’t want me to start protesting about not enough female representation on the team.”

“The lesser evil then?”

“Totally.”

“Back in my day”, Steve started, and James turned, pointing at him, as Loki could see, if he turned and twirled his back.

“Back in our day.”

Steve’s eyes glistened in surprise, that James talked to him. Then he smiled. “Okay, back in _our_ day, public affection was already frowned upon. It makes people still extremely uncomfortable.”

Nat patted his cheek. “Especially ninety-year-old virgins.”

Steve blushed hard. “Hey, I am not a virgin, Nat. I have plenty of experience.”

“And you still can’t handle Tony’s and Loki’s occasional overshare”, Nat told him.

Tony did good on the photoshoot; he even hired a designer to make them outfits for it. It was dangerously close to a recreation of their wedding outfits. Their hair got styled and Tony had hired his favourite photographer. Loki was extremely self-conscious, because he would be in his Jötunn skin. That alone made him appear stronger than Tony, but he wanted them to be equals. In the end, the P.R. team chose a photo not directly connected to the photoshoot, but while they were preparing for it.

Loki’s lips were brushing Tony’s cheek, as he was running a hand through the man’s hair. Tony was looking up at him in awe, a hand on Loki’s back.

Of course, the other pictures closely followed that one, and the next day one picture was heavily featured in newspapers. Tony was sitting in Loki’s lap in deep kiss with the Jötunn. Next to it the headline: ‘Is the playboy not on top anymore?’

Of course, as immature as Tony was, he replied on Twitter: ‘Two words: Frost Giant’, which only sparked the conversation more and made Loki slightly embarrassed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Act 4 is still bothering me, so if you got ideas, let me know. At the moment, it somehow looks anti-accords and not totally anti-Wanda...
> 
> Also, this was originally before the last mission... then I came up with the training and a reason for the press conference


	9. 97 is the new 30

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James' birthday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is actually NOT from version 1, so enjoy
> 
> Also just wanted to add, I have absolutely zero idea if that's a New York/Brooklyn dialect, I already have problems identifying German dialects, so identifying something other than American vs. British is a bit hard for me, maybe if I'm lucky I can tell if it's Australian, but that's about it...

“So, how old are you now?”, Sam questioned James.

“Hey, that’s what I wanted to ask”, Clint complained.

“97. I was born in 1917”, James told them, after he finished his third cake-piece.

“You are older than our friend Steven then?”, asked Thor and James nodded.

“By a whole year.”

Thor seemed content with the answer and walked away.

“But you were in cryostasis for most of the time between 1945 and last year, right?”, Clint poked.

“Most of the time, yes”, James ground out, “Sometimes they took me out for months at end.”

“So, did ya kill anyone famous?”

James rolled his eyes, before grabbing two pieces of cake and walking away from the conversation, but not before saying: “Like who, J.F.K.?”

Clint stared at him with a gaping mouth and Sam grabbed onto his shoulder with a chuckle. “He’s kidding. If you’d spend some time with him, you’d realise that he’s actually a funny guy.”

“That was point blank”, Clint breathed, paling, “If that is how he jokes, I don’t want to be in the room when he tells his worst secrets, because I seriously can’t tell.”

“So, birthday-boy, any last wishes I can fulfil you?”, Tony asked with a bright smile.

“Dunno what I would wish for.”

“See, that’s Loki right there. Whenever he wants something, he just asks for it or gets it, so I’m seriously not sure what to get him. You’re so alike.”

James smirked at that. “When’s his birthday?”

“Umm, he doesn’t know. And Thor and he don’t celebrate it anymore.”

“Why you thinking about presents then? Christmas is months away.”

Tony rubbed at his neck. “Well, I guess we’re taking a second shot at dating.” James saw how Tony looked nervously across the room, for a moment thinking his gaze had found the inventors husband, but then, after checking, figuring it found the same one’s brother instead.

“So, that’s why you went out on a couple dates since Valentine’s Day?”

“We couldn’t do it before, and he deserves to be treated. What about you? Anybody on your mind?”

“No, not at the moment. Dating in this century isn’t that easy, especially being a super-soldier and ex-assassin.”

“Shame. Holding out on all the ‘dames’ and ‘fellas’”, Tony told him with a smirk. James rolled his eyes at him.

“So, why are you scared of Thor?”

Tony paled and then coughed. “Am I?” His voice went up, before he stated, almost firmly: “No.”

James hummed knowingly, before speaking in a hushed tone, near Tony’s ear. “That’s not the only thing you’re hiding though, Tony.” Tony shoved him annoyed and James chuckled a little. “I’m just teasing. So, what do super-soldiers usually get for their birthday?”

“Well, last year, Steve got a mission and a hurt Loki for his birthday.”

“Doesn’t sound like the best track-record.”

“Let’s hope it goes better for you”, Tony answered him and looked around the room. “Have you seen Loki?”

“Oh, he went to change Runa, he’ll probably be back in a few minutes.”

“How do you know everything?”, Tony inquired, but smirked.

“Assassin”, James just answered, turning to have a look around a room, before quietly asking: “Am I a funny guy?”

Tony frowned at that. “Well, I’d think you at least have humour.”

“Sam thinks I’m funny.”

“And? Is that so bad?”

“I don’t know if it should be a compliment or not. Clint can’t tell if I’m joking or not.”

“Well, you got a very hard face, it’s not easy to read if you’re joking, so I just most times assume you are, Jamie.”

James sighed and then rolled his left shoulder. His arm hurt more today. It always hurt a little, like a strain.

“Something wrong?”, Tony immediately asked, “Want me to take a look at it?”

James smirked. “You just want to see me shirtless again.”

“Well, we could bug Brucie-bear with it and get him all flustered. Could be your birthday present.”

“I’d rather play strip poker with willing participants.”

“Guys!”, Tony shouted into the room and James quickly clasped his metal hand over Tony’s mouth and grinning a little to widely around the room.

“What is it?”, Steve asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Nothing, Stevie”, James told him, “Tony just can’t seem to get when I don’t _really_ need something.”

“See?!”, Clint loudly told Sam, “Not even Stark can tell when Barnes is joking.”

“I will haunt you”, James hissed into Tony’s ear. “Don’t you dare out me in front of him.”

Tony made a movement with his hand across his mouth, of zipping and locking it. Slowly James lifted his hand from Tony’s mouth, giving him a glare, before turning and having a bright smile on his face again.

“Who wants cake?”

“So…”, Steve started, and James turned to him with a beer in his hand.

“Yeah?”, James asked.

“Feels a little like old times, being at your birthday again.”

“With actual cake this time.”

Steve chuckled. “Yeah…”

“I know you… don’t like not calling me ‘Bucky’. It’s just…”

“You’re not _my_ Buck anymore.”

“I shouldn’t call you Stevie either.”

“Because I’m not _your_ Stevie?”

“Stevie was the punk that went to punch people in alleys.”

Steve smiled at that and sat down next to James on the couch. “I guess then I haven’t been ‘Stevie’ in a while.”

“You don’t punch bullies anymore?”

“Oh, I do”, Steve told him, “I just get told I’m a hero for it now.”

“Do you miss it?”, James asked after a little silence, “The old times?”

“Scrawny Steve or the ‘40s?”

“The ‘40s.”

“Sometimes I’m restless. Wake up thinking we gotta go to war again.”

“So?”

“Miss Peggy. The Howlies. Shouldn’t miss Howard, knowing how he turned out.”

“Do you still see her? I hear she’s still around.”

“Yeah, every now and then. She forgets sometimes. I think I’m making it worse. I still look like I did back then… She has dementia.”

“Damn”, James murmured. “She was a sharp gal though.”

“Yeah, she really was. Still his, half the time. It’ll hurt like hell to lose her.”

James hummed and nodded. “Still sweet on her?”

Steve chuckled in a way, that seemed too self-conscious. “She was it.”

“How long did you know her for, Steve?”

“Hey, she was the first dame to see me for more than a sick little left-behind.”

James rolled his eyes. “Yeah, two years. She was your sweetheart and you weren’t even together.” James took a breath and downed his beer. “Sorry. Thinking about the past, the life we didn’t get to have…”

“Do you hate it here so much?”

“I don’t hate it. Damn, I love getting fed and not worrying about what other people might think, seeing you… Don’t get stuck in the past Steve. It might be hard, but we gotta adept, punk.”

“Adept, like what? Like throwing away paper books, like staring at our phone all day?”

James sighed. “I dunno. Like, like… seeing that not everything’s black and white, Rogers. Good and bad isn’t always good _or_ bad, it might just be something in between. Like… tell me one thing that was better in the ‘40s.”

“People were more honest.”

James raised an eyebrow. “Ya mean, that nowadays they lie? They lied back then too. Hell, _I_ lied all the damn time, you just didn’t know.”

“The food you brought home, I remember, I just didn’t ask.”

“Wasn’t about the food, Steve. And see, you didn’t ask. ‘People were more honest’, my arse. Everyone was sick, if ya travelled around the world, it took way too long or cost way too much to get a hold of each other. Half the time I came home and didn’t immediately see you, I thought you fell over and chocked to death while I wasn’t there. And I never said anything. It was just how it was. You know what’s different? Everyone can shout _shit_ at each other without the risk of getting one over. That’s what they are, cruel.”

Steve sighed at that. “I’m still not on ‘twitter’ and ‘facebook’ and everything.”

“Stay off those damn social platforms. You would die knowing what people show the world.”

Steve grinned. “And you can’t handle that?”

“Handle my best bud dying? I would handle it better than you.”

The air was cold between them and James stared straight into Steve’s soul. They both knew he only went down with the plane because he couldn’t take Bucky’s death.

“Uncalled for”, Steve eventually said.

“If I hadn’t _lived_ my darn life, I’d have said you were so darn heartbroken, that you couldn’t live without me.”

Steve flushed and James laughed. “I’m not, I’m…”

“Straight as an arrow, yeah pal, I know you. Believe me, I’d have noticed if you’d so much as checked me out.”

“And back then…”

James clapped a hand on Steve’s back. “Calm down, I’m not accusing. You know that’s the other thing that’s good these days. Nobody, or well, at least no asshole, would say a bad word about any of us going out with a guy. Surprised me with Loki and Tony. Nobody said anything ‘bout it being two guys.”

“But they said a whole lot of other stuff… I hear…”

“You support them, right?”

“What?”, Steve looked surprised at James.

“About their relationship. About it being two men.”

“Course I do. Ain’t nobody’s business who ya love.”

“Good, good”, Bucky murmured. “Want another drink, Steve?”

“You _know_ I can’t get drunk.”

“It’s just for the taste, not for the drunk part. Want a drink?”

“It _tastes_ horrible.”

James grinned at that. “Yeah it does. They try though. And you get used to it.”

“What are you trying to avoid?”

Now, James laughed aloud. “I’m just trying to get you a beer. We had our _heart-to-heart_ , got each other to loosen up a bit. I’m not trying to stuff food down your throat like a worried mother-hen and you’re not worried I’ll drop dead at the moment, so…”

Steve let a hand run through his hair, before softly grabbing James’ wrist. “You’re not angry with me, right?”

“Stevie, there was nothing you could do. You tried to save me.”

“No, I mean… Do you hate me?”

James frowned. “For what?”

“For pressuring you. For looking at you, like…”

“Like I’m your long-lost friend? I _am_ , Steve, I’m just not the _same_ guy from back then. I need to find out who I am and that means, I gotta do that without you looking at me pleadingly, like you want me to turn into _Bucky_ and joke around and pick up dames for dances, making sure you get yourself a date as well. You should try that too, find your own footing, find who you are in _this_ time. Don’t get stuck back in time, with Peggy and, well, trying to take HYDRA down. Don’t get sucked into that, Steve, you’re _more_ than that. More than a soldier, more than ‘Captain America’. The guy I grew up with wasn’t some _Captain_. He was just a kid from Brooklyn that loved to sketch and got in way too many fights.”

“Oh yeah?”, Steve asked with a smirk, “I bet I could make a pretty dime selling paintings.”

“I bet you’d go the anonymous route and be very disappointed that none of your paintings are selling.”

“Oh, you bet?” Steve broke into a grin, wanting to spur James on.

“Yeah”, James said and prodded Steve’s chest. “And then Stark would take pity on you and buy all your paintings, hanging them in offices around the country so you’d never find out.”

“Ooh, _burn_ ”, James heard behind him and turned to Sam with a smirk.

“You don’t want a ‘Rogers Original’?”, James asked Sam as he felt Steve finally let go of his wrist.

“You mean, would I buy something just because Steve painted it? No way. Would I buy and hang it, if it were good? Yeah, sure.”

“Darlings, darlings”, Loki appeared with a smooth voice and his daughter on his hip. “I could hear you talking about Steve’s artistical skills from the other side of the tower. No, really, J informed me. I’ll have you two know, that Steve painted a _beautiful_ picture of me, when I was still carrying Runa.”

“See?!”, Steve pointed to Loki, “I’m not horrible.”

“He may not be the _greatest_ artist I’ve met in my life-time and it doesn’t compare next to the other paintings and sculptures of me…”

“Hey, that ain’t fair comparison”, Steve protested.

“But it has a _very special_ place in my heart, that reminds me, I still have to get my gallery up and running, Steve’s painting will be the centrepiece.”

Now Steve turned as red as a cherry. “I’m sure it isn’t _that_ good.”

“Well, that might be true”, Loki told him with a wink, “But you’re the only artist still in my life.”

“I want to see that picture”, James told Loki and grabbed his wrist, “now.”

“Overeager, are we?” Loki smiled and then handed Runa to Steve. “Would you mind? Not everything in storage is safe for her eyes.”

Steve nodded weakly and Sam stepped forward, greeting Runa with a smile, who threw up her hands and shouted with glee: “Ammy!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I guess... I'm done with What would Loki do?... Act 4 might only have 11 chapters and seem oddly short compared to Interlude, but it looks done... I've skipped over a lot of things that felt unnecessary for the story, so it reads a lot faster than Interlude, which just seems to be dragging itself from month to month...
> 
> I would like an opinion: Do you want me to carry on as was the plan (after chapter 20 post daily) or do you want me to NOW post daily so the last chapter of Act 4 will be posted on my birthday? I could also post two chapters every two days...


	10. Let’s Talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People talk, things happen and hey, cameo

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This just kinda happened... It wasn't planned... I'm sorry...

Loki groaned as he sat down in the common room. Tony was on a fly with Rhodey, Natasha and Clint were at S.H.I.E.L.D., Sam was in D.C. and the super soldiers were working out. When he heard a snicker that was definitely not Runa’s giggle, Loki looked around. Pepper was sitting at the table and doing some paperwork.

“Escaping some calls?”

“You know me well”, she said and stirred her drink, “Five meetings, three calls overseas. Maria said the W.S.C. has been on her heels because of Barnes as well.”

“When will she arrive then?”

Pepper took a sip of her drink. “She won’t, deep into work at S.H.I.E.L.D.” She wrote a few things down and then closed her file, leaving it on the table before she sat down on the couch. “What’s on your mind, Lo?”

“Oh, just”, Loki carded through Runa’s short hair, “Tony.”

“As always.”

“He’s not much of a romantic, is he?”

Pepper sighed. “No, but he’s trying. The important thing is, that you two talk and are on the same page where things are going.”

“That we are.”

Loki watched Runa as she played and answered her gibberish with a smile and foreign words.

“I never thought he’d be a good father”, Pepper suddenly said. “He’s so reckless.”

Loki looks at her with a frown. “He takes precaution and likes what he does.”

“But don’t you agree that it’s dangerous?”

Loki scoffed a little. “Every job can be dangerous. And in the end, one could get shot on the open street or fall ill and die from that.”

“But he runs towards the gun.”

“To protect the innocent. To protect the people.”

Pepper sighed again. “I guess I just have a different viewpoint. I never wanted him to be a hero.”

“It’s not your decision to make, Pepper.”

She laughs a little. “I guess you two were always ‘meant to be’ then.”

Loki scoffs and rolls his eyes. “It was a mess how we started.”

“Yeah”, Pepper says with a sneer, “It was, wasn’t it? You taking _my_ man.”

Loki paled a little and pulled Runa closer. “I am _not_ responsible for Tony’s actions.”

“Oh no, and you leading him on, not rejecting him? Are you not responsible for that?”

“What are you angry at, Pepper?”

“He never tried to do something for me, but you get all the gifts?”

“If I remember correctly you gifted yourself something from _his_ money.”

“Because he didn’t even bother to remember important days around me.”

“A birthday above the legal age limit is less important than you think, Miss Potts.” Loki scooped up Runa’s playthings and then lifted his daughter to sit on his hip. “I thought you were happy with your current position. I can’t believe you would insinuate something like that. I had no nefarious intentions in mind with Tony. Not in 2009, not in 2012 and most especially not now. Rethink what you accused me of before approaching me or mine again, pretending to be my friend.”

Loki teleported away, not to any facility J.A.R.V.I.S. could immediately find him in, but rather ‘Xavier’s School for Gifted Children’.

“Lo?”, he heard and a few seconds later a blue hand with dark nails was on his pale arm. Runa squeaked with joy.

“You look like hell”, Logan told him, and Loki was very thankful for the gruffy man.

“Would you mind looking after her for a moment?”, Loki asked towards Kurt.

“Of _course_ I’ll look after the little angel”, Kurt answered, taking her willingly in his arms and tickling her, making Runa squeal. Kurt grabbed the toys and the two walked off.

“Need a drink?”, Logan asked, and Loki sighed.

“I shouldn’t, but it sounds tempting.”

Logan clapped on Loki’s back and led him into another direction, the kitchen. “What’s on your mind, Skinny?”

“Ever been accused of being a homewrecker?”

Logan scowled and shook his head. “I’ve learned the hard way to stay out of romance. Someone got too close to the timeline?” Logan got a bottle of whiskey out and poured himself a glass. “Tea?”, he asked towards Loki.

“Yes, please. And it was Pepper. I thought better of her.”

“Potts? I thought you two were friends. And she shouldn’t really accuse you. You and Stark were in cahoots before they got together.” Logan put some water in the electric kettle and turned it on.

“Well, we weren’t in _cahoots_ like that. We were flirting, sure, but that ended quickly after some not so gentle remarks about my past wife.”

“Typical Stark I’d say. But she should’ve known that he still liked you, can’t accuse you of something if it was him making the first step.”

“I just thought she wasn’t angry about it, she seemed so fine with it, even gave us her blessing.”

“I bet you, she thought you two wouldn’t last. And that she could pick up the pieces and nurse him back to health.”

“But she’s with Happy.”

“And when did the two get together? Long after you came back and in the prime of your relationship, when you were the closest. She’s playing the long game and now she’s realising she’s losing. With you two coming out and being all romantic and shit. She thought she had hope when you disappeared and got hurt, but you picked yourself up again and she’s pissed.”

“She made sure we’d get involved with Stark Industries.”

“Put herself a lot closer to the Avengers, the thing that Stark oh so loves. If he wants to get rid of her, he has to take her out of S.I. and that’s gonna cause an uproar, they love her.”

Loki sighed and then watched the electric kettle. “I wouldn’t put her as a person purely after money.”

“Jealously, greed? There are usually small things that end up being the catalyst. What do you have that she couldn’t get?”

“A bag of problems?” Logan chuckled and prepared the tea for Loki. “Actually, I think it was something about him doing romantic things, taking me out on dates, bringing me flowers.”

The mutant hummed. “Maybe she never got that. Think about it, have you ever heard about Stark really dating anyone? Usually it was one-night-stands or full-on relationships. He flirts, yes, but he never took somebody on a date that he wasn’t absolutely certain in. Tony Stark does not date. He does not hand out meals at expensive restaurants to just anybody. If he has dinner with someone, it’s usually friends or business.”

Loki smiled and tapped at Logan’s chest. “You seem to have thought this through, Logan.”

“You know I try to look out for you, Skinny.”

“Oh, finally speaking from your heart?”

“The Wakandans aren’t the only ones that still care about you from the last century.”

“Oh, I know that. I missed you too.”

Logan growled a little and Loki chuckled at that and watched the other man as he poured the water into the cup.

“You know, Logan, if you’re ever in trouble…”

“I can count on you, yeah I know. But I don’t need to, I got a family right here. We care for each other. And whether you’re white or blue, you’re at least a distant cousin. I know your family is the Avengers, but you’re always welcome here among the mutants. As are any of your children, and, if he behaves, even your husband.”

“Couldn’t have said it better myself”, comes from the entrance of the kitchen and Loki looks over the shoulder, to see Xavier rolling in.

“Professor”, greets Logan.

“Logan. Loki, you and your family are always welcome here. I know you’d put your life on the line for any of us, so don’t even think that the same curtesy doesn’t come from the other side.”

Loki smiled at that and leaned against the kitchen counter. “I’ve meant to come here sooner and not in a moment of… uncertainty.”

“Oh, why?”

“I wanted to thank you for allowing Runa a place here, among your own.”

“She’s half human and doesn’t look like one, so this place is as good as any, Loki.”

“I would be grateful if any of my children would be allowed to stay here, not to live, but to see this as a safe place where they can be themselves.”

Xavier chuckled at that. “No need to be so formal about it. Any son or daughter of Loki is welcome here, as long as they keep the mischief at a minimum.”

“Thank you. Can I do anything in return?”

“No need, maybe an ‘I owe you’.”

“I love collecting on ‘I owe you’s, have we finally found something we agree on, Charles?”

Xavier scowled and then raised an eyebrow, when Loki’s phone rang. Tony. Quickly, Loki picked up.

“Honey?”, Loki asked, a worried tone on his tongue.

“Hey, Lokes, J.A.R.V.I.S. said you disappeared from the tower. Everything alright?”

Loki sighed, relieved that nothing bad happened to his lover. “We’ll talk about it later, dear. I’m at the School.”

“Xavier’s?”

“Yes. Weren’t you out on a fly with Rhodey?”

“Still are, sweetheart. So, you and the little one are safe?”

“Yes, I’m having tea with Logan. Well, he’s having… What is that swirl?”

“Just some nice whiskey”, Logan answered, watching the clock and then pulling the tea bag from the cup.

“He’s having whiskey and Charles…” Loki looked to his other side, but the man had already left. “Charles has left the conversation.”

Tony chuckled. “So, catching up with friends then?”

“Yes that would seem…”

Logan grabbed Loki’s phone and traded the cup of tea in for it. He put the phone on speaker. “Stark, you gotta get your Pitbull under control.”

“Logan!”, Loki actually squealed and promptly flushed. He lowered his head and then cooled the tea before drinking a sip.

“Who?”, Tony asked, confused.

“Potts. Listen, man, I know it ain’t any of my business, but if Loki has even the slightest inkling that his child is not safe at home, then he’s very much free to go where he wants.”

“Of course, he is, always, I won’t stop him. Pepper? J.A.R.V.I.S., do we have footage?”

“No, Sir, Miss Potts was working in the common room and I am not allowed to record anything relating to your business. Only the sensors were online.”

“That’s how she got away with it then”, growled Logan and Loki paled.

“Rhodey and I are coming over, Lokes is everything okay, are you okay?”

“He’ll be fine here”, Logan promised, before Loki could even get a word out.

“And Runa?”

“Kurt’s taking care of the little one.”

“Alright, Rhodey and I are on our way, Xavier probably knows, right?”

“I’m sure he does. I’ll bring him out back.”

“Hey, I can speak for myself!”, Loki protested.

“Sure, Skinny, you can.” Logan hung up and grabbed Loki’s arm, downing his drink and nodding towards Loki’s cup.

“Tea is best enjoyed over time.”

“Drink it, he’s not gonna be long.”

Loki growled at him and drank the mild-warm tea in one go, giving Logan a stink-eye. After he put the cup down and pocketing the phone, Logan pulled Loki after him and dragged him out on the back terrace. Only a minute later, Iron Man and War Machine landed and while Rhodey only lifted up his face-plate, Tony stepped out of his armour.

“Show me”, he prompted, and Loki sighed.

“Not an ‘hello, I missed you, I’m glad to see you in one piece’?”

Tony kissed Loki’s cheek gently. “Hey. You look gorgeous, and I’d really love to hear how the person I thought was one of my closest friends has hurt you into running off.”

“Fine.”

Loki pressed their foreheads together for a moment and then separated from him, before putting his hand on Tony’s forehead and letting the memories flow through. When they stepped away from each other Tony growled.

“What the fuck has gotten into her?”

“Well, I’d say she’s a jealous gold digger, but you’ve actually met her while I haven’t”, Logan informed Tony.

“What happened?”, Rhodey asked and stepped closer in his armour.

“Show him”, Tony commanded, and Loki sighed.

“May I?”, he asked Rhodey, who nodded. Loki pressed his hand to Rhodey’s head.

“That’s umm, a weird way to see stuff. What the hell, Potts?”

“I will put new restrictions in place”, Tony announced and then took out his phone, tapping around on it. “Nobody is allowed to work on S.I. stuff in any of the Avengers rooms, be it labs, private or open rooms. She ain’t getting to you again, sweetheart. And I’ll have a talk with her. She isn’t getting away with this.”

Tony kissed Loki quickly. “She also won’t have access to the mansion anymore, in, hah, now. Isn’t that right, J?”

“That’s correct. Master Stark, I am sorry I could not protect you in your home.”

“It’s fine, J.A.R.V.I.S., I’ll live. I just didn’t expect it, not from her.”

“I don’t think any of us did”, Rhodey assured him.

“Honeybear, lets fly. Sweetheart, I’ll see you at the mansion later? I’ll bring Jamie with me for cuddles. And Steve, because otherwise _he’s_ miserable, even if it makes Jamie slightly more agitated.”

“Aren’t they always?”, Loki asked with a sigh and Tony pulled him into a hug.

“It will be alright. She might be C.E.O., but that doesn’t mean she can say what she wants to anyone she wants to say it to.”

Loki hummed and then kissed Tony’s cheek sweetly. “Fly safe, darling, J.A.R.V.I.S., make sure he doesn’t crash into a building because he’s coding while flying.”

Tony spluttered and J.A.R.V.I.S. chimed with a hint of amusement: “Will do, Master Stark.”

Loki smirked and kissed Tony again. “Eternally.”

“Eternally”, Tony breathed and let his hand run down Loki’s arm. ‘I’ll give her hell.’

_‘You do that. Can’t throw her out though, too much controversy.’_

‘I’ll ask Nat for advice.’

_‘Good choice.’_

‘Can Xavier still hear us like this?’

_‘I’m pretty sure he can.’_

“Darn it.”

Loki chuckled while Logan and Rhodey looked at them confused, before Rhodey sighed.

“You’re speaking in your heads again, aren’t you?”

“Correct, Colonel.”

Rhodey grinned at Loki. “Tones, we should go, before Pepper decides to flee the scene.”

“Right.” Tony kissed Loki heatedly and then stepped away, getting back into his suit and the two flew away.

“I see it now”, Logan told Loki, who practically flinched. “How you two fit together. It’s actually quite eye-opening. I’m really glad it isn’t something like you both being of a high status.”

“Enlighten me, Logan.”

“You both give your heart to what you do. And you don’t do things half-way. You go full in. All or nothing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hadn't planned to destroy another character, it has only brought problems in the past and excluding her has caused a few problems while doing the rewrite... Please forgive me.
> 
> Also, how is this just one stretched scene???


	11. Crashing like a Meteorite

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little less drama, a little more explanations

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who would have thought? Version 2!

Runa was babbling and playing with her toys, liking especially the horse plushie when Tony brought home the super-soldiers. She also every two minutes put her hand on Loki’s knee and scowled.

“I’m sorry little one, I know I don’t feel great.”

“True”, Tony said as he came down the hall and then hugged Loki from behind, kissing his neck. “Is she doing her empath thing again?”

“Yes. Mother told me I started doing that very early on as well, though I lost my affinity for it later.”

Tony hummed and then turned his head away from Loki, towards Steve and James. “Grab a guestroom upstairs, one for each, we don’t need super-babies in 9 months.”

Steve spluttered and James snickered, at least from what Loki could guess. “Physically impossible, I think I’ve seen Stevie’s body often enough to know for a fact that there are no female parts anywhere.”

“Interesting, tell me more, Jamie how you saw Steve naked. Is he really as hung as the history books say?”, Tony asked.

“Guys!”, Steve screeched, and the guys chuckled “There’s a child present”, he pressed.

“Pick a room”, Loki said with a sigh and then pulled Tony into another kiss and whispered to Tony, even though he knew that the super soldiers could hear it easily: “I hope you do not intend to ride another’s dick.”

He could hear Steve cough loudly and James roaring with laughter. Tony smirked, before his smile faded and he pulled Loki close.

“Pepper’s taking an extended vacation. We’re moving things around and I’ll have a bigger position in S.I. again. That’ll take me a few days to get a hang on again, but thankfully I’ve been to all meetings this year, so it’s not gonna be a whole lot different. Rhodey is helping me out and we have yet to inform Happy what’s going on. S.I. has to be one front for this, especially with the Avengers. Next week, Darcy’s going to join us and she’s gonna work closely with P.R. of S.I., while she’s on the Avengers front of it. We need a young voice and Darcy’s perfect for it.”

Loki nodded and sighed. “I’ll feel better once the transition is done.”

“She spouted something about us having to trust her, because we knew her longer and that you were manipulating us. I can’t believe that woman.”

“I feel exhausted.”

“Then take a nap, sweetheart, I’ll watch Runa and we’ll get you when we’re making dinner later. Jamie wanted to cook something and Rhodey’s on a grocery run.”

“Alright”, Loki nuzzled Tony’s cheek and then got up, walking upstairs to his room, curling under the blankets and quickly falling asleep.

For a long time, Loki’s rest was dreamless, but then an image opened before him. Two young boys sitting in green grass, the sun over them, as they folded paper. Their mother in a chair on the side knitting.

“Father, Father, look”, one of the boys said with a smile and ran to Loki.

“You’ve done it, darling”, Loki answered and held the paper animal in his hand carefully.

“Váli showed me how”, Narfi told him and Loki smiled at the other boy as well, pressing a kiss to Narfi’s head.

“This is beautiful, dear, show your mother.”

Narfi frowned and Loki watched him closely, before he heard Narfi whisper: “He’s angry again, isn’t he?”

“Disappointed, dear, not angry. I’ll convince him I’ve done good soon enough.”

“I don’t like it when you go to the castle”, Narfi said and pouted.

Sighing, Loki pressed another kiss to Narfi’s head. “It will be alright.”

A coldness washed over Loki when he woke. He felt sick at the thought of his children and tried to shake the feeling off, that something bad was still on its way and arriving soon. They all knew Thanos was coming, but he was a long while away, hopefully, with the Space Stone out of his hands.

“Loki? Loki!”

Loki shook himself, as he felt a hand on his arm, that immediately left him. James had taken a step away from the bed.

“Food’s ready, you alright?”

“Dreams.”

James held out his hand and Loki got up, letting himself be led downstairs.

“You alright, Lokes?”, Tony called out.

“Just dreams”, James answered him, “He was deep into thinking when I got there.”

“Dreams?”, Steve asked, taking a closer look at Loki, “What kind?”

“Past”, Loki breathed and sat down at the table rubbing the headache on his forehead. “Basically, telling me to be afraid of the norm.” He teared up. “I never thought I’d see them again like that.”

“Kids?”, Tony asked, quickly and Loki nodded. Tony took his hand and rubbed circles on the back of it. “I know you miss them, honey.”

“I always do. Why can’t I just…”

“Forget them?”, Tony asked with a raised eyebrow, “You don’t want that. Not again.”

“Again?”, Steve inquired, before smiling at James in thanks for the meal.

“Loki used to make himself forget that his family ever existed. The spell would only last for some time and yes, sweetheart, it made things easier in that time, but it hurt even more when you got your memories back.”

“It’s just so painful.”

“I know it is, but that isn’t a solution.” Tony kissed Loki’s hand and then moved out of the way so James could fill their plates with a rice-dish.

“So, what’s going on?”, Steve asked, as he watched Tony feed Runa her meal.

“Well, we might have a problem with our partner at Stark Industries”, Rhodey explained and Steve frowned for a moment.

“Pepper?”, he then asked and Rhodey nodded.

“Tony put more restrictions up. Those won’t affect anything you’re doing, just what S.I. can do in the spaces of the Avengers.”

“What happened?”, James asked, and Loki sighed.

“You wouldn’t know, James, even Rhodey wasn’t present at the time, remember when we talked about me having attacked New York in 2012?”

“Yeah, you were mind-controlled.”

“And that was proven quickly. Thor left me on Earth with old friends I had made a few years earlier, so it could be proven further. In the time before I was forced back to Asgard, barely three weeks, Tony and I got together and married.”

“So?”, James asked, not seeing a problem with that.

“So, when the battle happened Pepper and I were still together”, Tony told him, “And I might have been a little too friendly with Loki, flirted more than a taken man should. And now she’s pissed, because things were looking bad, it looked like everything was falling apart back at the end of last year.”

“She still loves you”, James gathered, “and she’s pissed at Loki for breaking you up.”

Loki paled and Tony quickly defended him: “He did not. If anyone broke Pepper and I up, it was me. Loki didn’t even know Pepper and I were together until I already got back to the flirting we did when we first met, and she informed him.”

“But she’d never be angry at you, because she still wants you.”

“Loki can’t do anything against her. She could _shoot_ him and all he could do is defend himself.”

James growled. “What did she do?”

“We spoke”, Loki told him with a sigh, “And she made it very clear that she was angry I was getting a different treatment from Tony than her, like she deserved just as much, if not more.”

“J.A.R.V.I.S. will warn Loki or any of us, if she’s entering Avengers rooms uninvited. And I’m working with Nat and the P.R. team of having her moved to a different facility. The Headquarters are still in Los Angeles, so that might be a good option, I can look over the people here and she’ll be moved over there. If she doesn’t want to leave, we’ll have her removed, there are a few capable people that I already got an eye on.”

“I’m sorry, Loki”, Steve suddenly said, “I thought she was happy with how things were, if I’d known, I’d have talked to her.”

“And she _loves_ talking to you, pretty boy”, Tony assured, “but it’s not your problem.”

“Thank you though, Steve, for your support”, Loki told the blonde.

“Anytime. Let’s eat.”

After they put Runa to bed, Loki ended in a cuddle-nest with the other Avengers. Softly he pressed his head into Tony’s neck, who hummed at the feeling.

“It’ll be alright, won’t it?”, Loki breathed.

“It sure will, sweetheart”, Tony assured, and James nodded onto Loki’s head.

“It will, little brother, I’ll make sure it will.”

“Little brother?”, Steve asked interested, somehow intertwined with both James and Loki.

“I’ll protect the kitten”, James told him and massaged Loki’s head to make a point.

“Does the future look a little bit brighter now?”, Tony asked.

“A little. And a little safer, since visiting Xavier’s.”

“Why’s that?”, Rhodey asked from behind Tony, trying to braid the man’s hair, proving that he should cut it again.

“Charles told me the kids will have a safe spot at the school.”

“And you didn’t think to ask me?”, Tony asked, a little bit confused.

“It’s just a spot, darling. And I asked him for _all_ my children. It’s just so they have a place they’d be protected, if things were going down. You want them protected right?”

Tony grumbled a little. “Still would have wanted you to ask.”

“I’m sorry, dear. I should have. I was just relieved in the moment that they are even accepted in a place other than our home. That they can meet people outside our tightly knit circle that are not going to hurt them because of what they look like or how they act.”

“What did he want in return?”

“An ‘I owe you’.”

“That bastard”, Tony growled and Rhodey laughed at Tony’s back, together with Loki. “You know he’s gonna hoard those and throw them at you at the most inconvenient times, right?”

“But he knows that it’s valid payment with me, I’m a little impressed by him.”

“Of course, he knows, I think most people know the ‘God of Chaos’ loves collecting ‘I owe you’s.”

“I didn’t”, James answered.

“I don’t cash them in, most times, darling.”

“Unless you’re in trouble, like last year in Wakanda. And you need to collect a bunch more if we’re going to remain on Earth for centuries.”

Loki growled a little and Tony snickered as he pulled Loki closer. ‘Eternally.’

_‘Eternally.’_

“So”, Tony started, a yawn on his lips, as he curled his body around Loki’s in their bed, “What else did you and ‘scary enough I want to introduce him to the Winter Soldier’-Logan talk about?”

“Oh, why?”, Loki asked, with a smirk, “Think anybody can make me think twice about loving you?”

“Come on”, Tony said with a pout that was unbecoming for him.

“He said you don’t usually date. You do one-night-stands and relationships and flirt like a beast, but you don’t date.”

“I did once upon a time”, Tony told him, “In M.I.T., but then I realised…”

“That people are usually just after the fame and money?”, Loki inquired, and Tony nodded.

“So, I just flirt and find out how people react to being told ‘no’. And I test their boundaries, test to see what’s too much and what I can get away with.”

“Like when you flirted with me and talked about Sigyn?”

“Exactly. If I know I can work with that, with the boundaries they got and can see that they would work with mine, I got nothing to worry about.”

“And now you’re dating me.”

“While we’re already married. And you asked for it.”

“Pepper doesn’t know that. Nat does, but Pepper doesn’t. Pepper doesn’t know that this was a last resort, a chance to get things done, to get us on a good track again.”

“And we are, right?”

Loki hummed. “We are, dearest, I love the little notes and the occasional twitter-mention.”

“And I won’t stop bringing you flowers. The shop is having great business with me buying them out every now and then.”

“Leave some for the rest of the romantics.”

Tony snickered and then sighed. “Happy’s gonna be so crushed. I don’t want him to go to L.A. I want him to stay.”

“Then tell him that it’s up to him, you’d never like it, if you forced him to stay here.”

“True. I hope this doesn’t break your heart. I don’t want to be a heart breaker.”

“Oh, haven’t you broken so many hearts, when you told people you were officially off the market?”

“Well, now they are pining about us together. Have you seen the amount of fanfiction and fanart they have come up with?”

“Nope. And I seriously do not wish it.”

“Some of it’s pretty disturbing.”

“I can believe that.”

Tony hummed again. “Is it weird that I’m scared to bring another child into this world?”

“Not at all. Is it weird, that I still mourn my twins after six centuries of when I last saw them with life in their bodies?”

“Never. Oh man, I want Sleipnir to finally make up his mind and decide to live here with us.”

Loki snickered. “That’s not making up one’s mind.”

“He’d love it here; I know he would.”

“I know darling, but I will not be the parent to my children my father was to me. I will not force them anywhere.”

“Yeah, I know.”

“And besides, Eir is still teaching him.”

“You could teach him.”

“Not about healing magic I couldn’t”

Tony grumbled and then nuzzled into Loki’s cheek. “I love you.”

“I love you as well, darling.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, I see Steve and James are getting along better, but I decided it was time, there's enough drama in this story to focus too heavily on the two


	12. Punishment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony POV!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kinda version 1, but also kinda not, as it was written in shortly before I started the rewrite (originally as chapter 2).
> 
> This chapter was the reason I couldn't name a different chapter in Act 4 "Punishment"...

Tony got death-threats. Pepper knew, Loki didn’t. He suspected Nat and Clint knew as well. Loki also got death-threats, but they never reached him, Tony knew he should throw them into an incinerator, but they are also proof. If anything happened to the both of them, they needed those letters.

He didn’t want Pepper reading them, he knew she did, when she was his secretary, but she shouldn’t anymore. The team got less threats and those went to Rhodey and Pepper. Tony always got threats. The threats against Loki started, after it was revealed that he was staying with the Avengers. Tony hadn’t started reading them then. He’d started after Loki had disappeared in November. Some were already open, they had other people inside S.I. qualified on reading them and making threat-assessments. He suspected Happy had read a few.

There were printed notes on the letters. ‘Obsessed’, ‘Mythology’, ‘New York’, ‘Mind-Control’, ‘Past, have to check’. The last, Tony read carefully and thought about them. He made a pile of ‘true’ and ‘false’, the true accusations being significantly less than the false ones.

Tony hadn’t slept until Jane had asked him to call onto Loki and he’d failed. He’d sent her away and read even faster. Someone had killed Loki, he had thought. Someone had killed him, and the answer might be in the letters. He made the threat-assessments from his gut. Two days later he’d fallen asleep after reading a last letter. He dreamed it was _his_ fist that had killed Loki.

Tony didn’t give himself time to be relieved that Loki was alive. He knew it could happen again. Someone would take him, and Tony had no time to make up for what he did. And then Loki was gone again. He’d barely seen him for more than a month, he’d wanted to show him how much he loved him, how thankful he was that he’d forgiven him.

On the nights that Loki didn’t answer, Tony woke with a start, looking for the feeling in himself that told him Loki was still alive. He got obsessed with the letters again. Hiding something from Loki was hard, but he could learn from him. Loki didn’t hide things; he just didn’t always tell everything. Tony did that. He had a lot of different things to tell before he’d eventually had to tell him, that he was reading the death-threats they got. It was the punishment he gave himself.

He still did that. They didn’t sleep in one bed most times at the time, Loki was recovering and that was done better with freezing temperatures. There was a reason he’d been relatively fine after Svartalfheim, at least from what Clint had told him. Tony hated himself for what he did the night Loki came back.

Tony hid his self-hate behind a thick veil. He’d given Steve a small glance. Tony knew he wasn’t deserving of Loki. The letters didn’t make him feel better. The way other people would do worse to the two of them, imagined worse, it made him angry, it made him want to strangle them.

He only read at night nowadays, every second or third night, making sure neither Loki nor Bruce noticed him not sleeping that night. They were the most observant. At least he thought so.

He’d stumbled into the common room after one night of heavy reading and Nat stood in the kitchen, silent, he hadn’t even known she’d come back so soon, Pepper had left earlier in the week. Nat looked at him and made his coffee extra strong. They didn’t talk until she’d handed him the cup.

“Clint’s asleep”, she told him, apparently he’d come back with her, as to say: ‘The vents are empty. He’s not listening in.’

“James is training”, he answered. They were several stories down and even Loki couldn’t hear between floors, because Tony had made sure of that, when they rebuilt the top of the tower, at the time he had wanted Steve to feel comfortable.

“Sam and Steve are in D.C., packing up the last of Sam’s stuff.”

“Thor’s on Asgard, Loki’s sleeping, Bruce is at the mansion and Rhodey’s back at the base. We done?” Rhodey had left right after the stuff with Pepper was handled.

“Sure.”

“Wasn’t aware you were in the kitchen”, Tony added, drinking his coffee.

“Was waiting for you.”

Tony sighed and stepped closer. “If you want to strangle me, you should make it look like an accident.”

“I know how to kill people, Tony. Besides, I couldn’t stand a sad Loki.”

Tony chuckled. “That’s all you’re worried about? He’d get over me.”

“He wouldn’t”, she told him. “He told me a secret when he was little once. He told me, he made himself forget he ever had kids or a wife, so he could smile and enjoy his life.”

“You know, I know that.”

“Then how can you think he’d get over you?”

“He’d be better off without me.”

“You _just_ told everyone about you being married a month ago.”

“He has a better footing. Besides, if it comes out what I…”

“Nobody’s gonna talk”, she interrupted him. “You don’t have to keep bullying yourself.”

“I’m not…”

“Yes, you are”, she interrupted him again. “You’re not reading them to figure out how to hurt him. And you’re not reading them to gain knowledge on how to protect him. Let _us_ worry about protecting him from those threats.”

“I have to.”

“No, you don’t. You’re an inventor. You have ideas, you build. You will not be able to case a place, to see every possible way to hurt him and in turn how to prevent it.”

“I’m glad he has you.”

“And you have us too”, she told him. “James is even better at casing the tower than Clint and me, or Happy, for that matter. He knows every hinge, how to break everything, with and without super-strength. Ask _him_ what needs to be done to make the tower safer. Ask _him_ how to protect Loki.”

“By staying away from him.”

Nat rolled her eyes and Tony drank his coffee.

“I mean it Nat, maybe it would be better if we stayed away from each other, if I stayed away from him.”

“Did you hurt him because you wanted to hurt him, because it made you feel good?”

“No.”

“Why did you? Because I got an idea why you did, but I’m not even sure you do.”

“Nerves?”, Tony said with a short laugh, “Enlighten me, Romanoff.”

“I think you made him feel the pain you felt when you thought he’d sacrificed himself.”

Tony sighed and buried his face in one of his hands. “I don’t know what I’d be without him.”

“You lived 40 years without him.”

“Yes. And then he came into my life and he was like a drug. He’s my…” Tony sighed again. “I wouldn’t know…”

“You’re punishing yourself for all the wrong you did. Is he a saint? Did he never do anything wrong? How I see it, and this might be a wrong approach, you didn’t slap him with the intent to bruise him and your words hurt him more like you physically did.”

“Hey, Loki would never…”

“Lay a hand on you? I know. And you’d be the first to defend him. But Loki doesn’t hurt you personally. Loki pushes himself to the edge. I know you feel guilty for everything that happens because of S.I. or is somehow connected to people you _once_ met, things you believe you could prevent. Loki, he carries the _universe_ on his shoulders. He pushes himself and he hurts himself and everyone races to his side, telling him that he’s right to do so. You are the first. Maybe right after Thor. Loki thinks it’s all on his shoulders. And he acknowledges in the aftermath of things like the other planet, that he could have asked for help. But he will do it again and again. He pushes himself to _somehow_ be the hero of the story, not willing to share the spotlight.”

Tony sank down in his chair. He wanted to scream at Nat, but she had a point. “So how can I help him?”

“You go to him, talk to him, offer your help. Offer you being at his side. Punishing yourself for your past isn’t doing you any good. Acknowledge that you did something wrong and try to prevent it ever coming to that point again. And this might need you making sure Loki will come to your side, if he ever needs to do something like that again. What would he have _needed_ , to ask for your help?”

“Maybe… Maybe knowing he couldn’t hurt me, hurt us, even accidentally.”

“See, you’re getting there.”

Tony smiled and made himself another coffee. “I can fix this.”

She smirked and went away; her part was done. Tony drank the coffee quickly and then made his way to the lab.

“J, we gotta work the freezing problem again. So, Loki can’t freeze the suit and I will stay warm enough inside. Make it safe for space-travel, too. How cold do we know he can get?”

“I would ask you to inquire Doctor Foster’s help for that.”

“Jötunn expert, right.”

Tony checked the time and then took out his phone.

**[To Taser] Repulsor:** ‘hey, you got access to Jane’s frost notes?’

He tapped with his foot, but when he saw the points that showed Darcy was answering, he grinned.

**Taser:** ‘course I got’

**Repulsor:** ‘is there anything in there, how cold the ice is they make?’

**Taser:** ‘is this like a kink question?’

**Repulsor:** ‘no, purely scientific’

**Taser:** ‘give me ten min, Jane doesn’t like me touching her stuff and she’s watching some shitty romance to fall asleep’

**Repulsor:** ‘make it quick and I’ll get you the dress you wanted for graduation’

**Taser:** ‘geez, old man’  
**Taser:** ‘alright, got it, locked into bathroom, Jane’s threatening me’  
**Taser:** ‘depends on the core temperature, apparently they can regulate it themselves around 5°C + or – their normal’

**Repulsor:** ‘so max. around -50, thx’

Tony called Jane.

“Yes?”

“Sorry, I had to talk to Darce, she needed to help me with something, and I thought you’d be asleep or would ask too many questions.”

“What did you need help with?”

“Jötunn stuff, see you’re already asking questions. Any-who, don’t be pissed at Darce, go back to your show.”

“Can I help you? Is Loki in danger?”

“Bye Jane, get enough sleep!”

Tony hung up on her.

“J, we gotta make it capable of withstanding cold down to -50, well, more like -60°C, to be safe. And me staying alive and well in the suit, or well, a normal human.”

“So, making it airtight, Sir?”

“Yeah. And when we’re done with that, put it in a cue for Rhodey’s upgrades. Oh, and while you’re at it, get Darcy an appointment with the tailor for the dress we already put on hold for her.”

“Should I also cue up, if the upgrade would be compatible with the uniform of the other Avengers?”

Tony thought for a moment. Tony and Rhodey were the only ones, where the uniform was also their weapon. “No, make assessments for how cold their individual weaponry can get and still work. Oh, make that for the Arc Reactor and the repulsors too, maybe we need a whole new material for the joints.”

“Or the suits. What will the other Avengers be wearing during your space-adventure?”

Tony rolled his eyes. “We’re making space-suits. Find a few of NASA’s problems so I can help them with that and get a favour out of it.”

“Will do, Sir.”

Tony rubbed his hands. “Time for a new armour. J.A.R.V.I.S., my playlist please.”

“On it.”

“What’s this?”, Rhodey asked annoyed. Apparently, Friday nights can _only_ be movie nights.

“I made a new suit.”

“And this needs attention why?”, Clint asked, “You make new suits all the time.”

“Well, it’s not fully ready yet, but when it’s done, it’s kinda a space-suit, I’m still waiting on NASA’s call to make the final things happen.”

“Why are you showing us an unfinished product?”, Steve asked, arms folded.

“Because, it’s gonna have one important function, it can’t freeze up. Lokes?”

Loki looked at him a bit owlishly. “Yes, dear?”

“Can you try to freeze it?” He could feel Loki get nervous and quickly waved it off. “Alright, no pressure, not yet, just want to offer this for you.”

“For me?”

“For if you ever need help in space again. I’m here for you. And it’s gonna be ready and you won’t have to worry about me getting frozen accidentally.”

Loki’s face brightened and Tony smiled. Then Loki frowned and Tony frowned in turn. “What about Runa?”

“Well”, Tony scratched his head, “It’s also in the cue for War Machine’s upgrades, so I could stay back, and you could take Rhodey. Just, I hear you, okay? I might be a bit slow at times and every change kinda scares me, but I want to figure it out. And I know you’re grounded now, but that doesn’t mean the Avengers are, so if anything happens in space, that needs our attention, we’re probably gonna have suits and weapons that are going to be able to work there.”

Loki smiled at him and hugged him closely, Tony ducking his head into Loki’s chest. “You got my back”, Loki whispered, and Tony nodded.

“If you let me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *stares suspiciously*  
> This looks an awful lot like foreshadowing... I have no idea if it actually could be considered so.
> 
> Also, I hope you like how I pushed the chat stuff that's written from the same person together. I think it makes it more readable and especially when the two names have a similar length :)


	13. Code Green

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mission time! Anybody miss mission time?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had to be changed from version 1, but the beginning was roughly the same there.

Thor wasn’t on Earth, when code green broke a little over a month before the remembrance event. Thor wasn’t on Earth and that’s why it was code green anyway. Had he been on Earth, they’d probably have enough firepower to keep the HYDRA-goons at bay. But as it was, Thor wasn’t on Earth, James wouldn’t be involved in any HYDRA-drama, so it was code green. On top of that, it quickly became code blue.

Happy was going to look after Runa, while James watched the screens. There were too many to make them all sleep. But Steve and Tony occasionally used the shield to give a wider range to the stream of the beams.

Loki was having fun at Clint’s side, when the building under them collapsed. Well, it exploded first, but the result was the same, it was coming down. He quickly grabbed Clint and landed them on another roof top.

“Thanks, Snowflake.”

“No problem”, Loki told him, before activating the comm.

 **[Snowflake]:** “Guys, why did our building just collapse?”

 **[Captain America]:** “Apparently you’ve been spotted.”

Clint and Loki rolled their eyes at each other, before the smaller focused on shooting again and Loki collected his arrows.

“Dissolving arrows, that would be something”, Clint told him, and Loki nodded.

“Yes, but that would mean more costs.”

“Magic arrows. 5 Seconds after they hit, they’re in my quiver again.”

“I’ll look into it, can’t promise anything.”

 **[J.A.R.V.I.S.]:** “I’ll put it on your list, Master Stark.”

Loki nodded. “Thanks, J.”

“So, what else is on your list?”

“I think there is ‘transforming rings’ and ‘containment and transportation for mind-controlled Avengers’.”

“When did the last thing get on there?”

“Early last year, one session, all theory, never talked about it again.”

“You think it’s going to happen again?”

“The Sceptre is still out there. I don’t want anyone poking around in any of our brains.”

“Yeah. Not fun.”

“You can say that again.”

“Not fun.”

Loki smirked and picked up another handful arrows.

 **[Captain America]:** “Snow, we need a chamber around these weapons.”

 **[Snowflake]:** “Where are you?”

Steve activated the bracelet.

 **[Captain America]:** “Here.”

“See you later, Hawk.”

“Yeah, see you.”

Loki teleported away and in front of Steve.

“Hey Cap.”

He pointed to the pile of weapons and ran off again. Loki quietly rolled his eyes and then made a container around the weapons, locking them away.

 **[Snowflake]:** “I feel like I’m the weapons-master.”

Loki smiled a little, when he heard Tony chuckle.

“Snowman!”, he heard Hulk roar and Loki’s eyes flicked to the side, noticing something else in his peripheral vision, that had been behind him a moment ago.

“Shit”, he muttered as he barely escaped the blue shot and had two others coming right at him. His shield was fast enough for the second, but not the first. He howled loudly as it hit his back and he fell over, before Hulk pummelled down on the HYDRA men.

 **[Sergeant Barnes]:** “Loki?!”

Loki tried to get up, but it hurt like hell.

 **[Snowflake]:** “Urgh, fuck.”

 **[Iron Man]:** “Lokes, everything okay?”

 **[Snowflake]:** “Got hit. Were too fast, was distracted. Hulk’s here.” Loki hit his fist on the ground and a bit of ice spread, before he sighed again. “Hulk?!”, he shouted.

The big green was quickly at his side.

“Snowman hurt?”

“Yeah, can you help me up?”

“Hulk protect.”

Loki smiled a little, as Hulk gathered him in his arms. “Hey, can you make Banner see the wound and tell me if it’s bad?”

“Hulk try. Banner, out, now!”

Loki smirked a little and his grin went wider, when Hulk’s eyes turned brown and Bruce turned him on his Hulk hands.

“Yeah, you need to go back to the tower, that’s bad. I think an Asgardian healer should take a look at that.”

“Thanks Bruce.”

“Glad it worked. Okay, Hulk, you can go back now.”

“Snowman hurt badly?”, Hulk asked a moment later.

“Yes”, he spoke, before switching to the comm.

 **[Snowflake]:** “How is it looking guys?”

 **[War Machine]:** “We’re rounding up the last. Tony and I are making a last sweep and then it’s go time.”

“Snowman hurt, Hulk protect. Hulk take Snowman back.”

 **[Iron Man]:** “How bad is it?”

 **[Snowflake]:** “Bruce said, Asgardian healer bad.”

 **[Iron Man]:** “Bruce?”

 **[Snowflake]:** “Yeah. It works. I’m very proud of you, Hulk.”

Hulk’s smile was wide, and he carried Loki carefully. “Hulk take Snowman back.”

“Wrong direction, big guy.” Nat was standing in front of them.

“Where Hulk go?”

“Follow me. I’ll take you to the Quinjet.”

“No. No Jet, Hulk not protect on Jet.”

“Okay… Loki can you lead him back to the tower?”

“J.A.R.V.I.S. give me the directions on my goggles, please.”

 **[J.A.R.V.I.S.]:** “I am not ‘Google Maps’.”

“No, you’re better. So, if you please.”

J.A.R.V.I.S. seemed to be grumbling, but quickly put up the directions and Loki directed Hulk onto the long road, that would lead them back to the tower. It would need at least an hour at this pace. Loki leaned into the Hulks protective hold and sighed.

“Heimdall?”, he asked lazily, and Hulk frowned down at him. Softly Loki patted on his chest.

**The Royal healer has been notified. As well as Thor.**

“Thank you Heimdall.”

 **[Snowflake]:** “Guys, healer is on the way, Thor too.”

 **[War Machine]:** “Good.”

“Hulk, can you move a bit faster?”

“But… Snowman hurt, Hulk fast, hurt more.”

“Less time to be hurt, Hulk.”

Hulk thought for a moment. “So, more hurt, little time better than little hurt, more time?”

“Most times, yeah. If you have someone that can help. And the healer is coming to the tower, so the sooner we’re there, the sooner I can get healed.”

“Hulk run then. Hold on.”

Loki threw his arms around Hulk’s neck, as the other began running, quickly getting surpassed by Iron Man and War Machine, who decided to show them the way. Loki howled from joy at the fast speed and laughed loudly, when they got nearer to the inner city, making crowds disperse and running straight to the tower.

The Bifrost came crashing down a few minutes after Hulk had left Loki in James’ caring arms, who held him on his way to the med bay. He seemed very worried, as he sat as his bedside, holding Loki’s hand, moments before Tony came crashing in, yelping and then stating: “I need to make you a new suit darling.”

Loki laughed lightheaded and turned his head to him. “I can’t even really feel it.”

“Probably because you got nerve damage”, Bruce, wrapped in some light clothes, told him. “James could you please hold him down?”

“What are you doing?”

“Removing his clothing”, Bruce answered Tony, and Loki’s heartrate quickened.

“P-please let Tony do it… and without holding me in place, p-please.”

Bruce stared at him for a moment, already putting the gown and gloves on. Then he seemed to think, and his face went pale. “Yeah, uh, Tony, go right ahead.” He handed Loki’s husband a pair of gloves, which the other quickly put on.

Tony’s hands were quick and precise, as Loki still squirmed from laying on his belly, his heart rate still faster than normal. Tony didn’t tell him to stay still, but he placed kisses on Loki’s cheeks and temples every now and then, before Loki was only wearing his pants and socks, because he had taken off his shoes for good measure. Then he cleaned the wound, before the door opened.

“Brother, what happened?!”

Loki’s heart rate quickened again. “James, Thor, please step outside, may Doctor Banner and I stay?”, Tony asked.

Loki let his head flip around. “Eir”, he said surprised at seeing the head physician.

“Hello, Prince Loki. You are his consort, correct?”

“Yes”, Tony answered quickly.

“Then you may stay. And you are the carer for these people normally?”

“Umm…” Bruce coughed. “I don’t really have much knowledge, but I try my best, I’m a biochemist, normally Loki makes sure that we’re okay.”

“Loki, you are no healer.”

Loki sighed, calming at the demanding tone. “I am well aware; I have _tried_ to tell them that for a while. I am trying my best.”

“You shall better find a good equipped team to heal your warriors”, she told Tony, before laying a hand on Loki’s back. “You might stay as well, Doctor, maybe you will learn something. Loki, may I put you into the dreamscape?”

“Yes. I trust you, Eir.”

She let a soft hand run through his hair, before softly putting her hand onto his neck, making Loki pass out.

When Loki woke up, only James was in the room. He didn’t have to ask, the questioning look towards the soldier, already told the words.

“Eir is giving everyone a once-over.”

“Huh”, Loki answered, his voice a bit raspy.

“She’s very disappointed. Like a strict Ma.”

Loki chuckled a little. “She has centuries of experience, piecing Thor and his shield-brothers back together, she has often praised me for my attempts at healing magic though.”

“Can’t wait to meet your mother then.”

“Frigga is coming?”

“Thor said she would visit soon. I still don’t like him.”

“You don’t like my dearest brother?” Loki snickered. “I could have never guessed.”

“Big, burly and blonde? I have no idea what that reminds me of. Steve’s still weird to me at times, but at least he’s trying. Nat, I try to avoid as well, because of the Winter Soldier, but the others are fine. More than fine some.”

Loki laid on his side and propped his head up on his fist. “Aww, tell me about that.”

James blushed and Loki grinned. “Is it Bruce? Because sorry to tell you, but…”

“Sam.”

“Oh, really?” Loki laid back on his spine. “Hmm, I can see the appeal. You wanna watch or you wanna feel?”

“Both?”, James whispered, and Loki smiled softly.

“I don’t know his orientation but getting friendly with him would be a good first step.”

“He’s a brave fighter. But he’s friends with Steve.” He put his head down.

“You think they’re more than friends?”

“I wouldn’t want to…”

“I’ll find out”, Loki interrupted him.

“Really?”

“Course. I’m your Trickster brother. I just have to keep away from Nat. Though she might have already noticed and would be quicker with an answer.”

“She told me to ‘go talk to him’ in Russian once. Since then…”

“You try to avoid her, got it. But that could also mean, that he’s single.”

“You think so?”

“Yeah. J.A.R.V.I.S., ask Nat to come by please, it is of utmost importance.”

J.A.R.V.I.S. only pinged and Loki sat himself up, noticing how James quickly moved to press the buttons on the side of the bed, to make the head-part stand up. Not a minute later the Black Widow walked into the room.

“You look better”, she told him.

“Eir has cleared you”, Loki noted.

“She took one look at me and told me to take a shower other than that I was fine.”

“Fantastic.”

“What up?” She folded her arms in front of her chest.

“Are there any relations going on of any of the Avengers I might not yet know about?”

“Actual relations or the fact that Bruce is totally fawning for Jane and James has it in for Sam?”

James lowered his head. “Yes, actual relations”, Loki pressed.

“Don’t worry, he’s single and I’d say open for anything”, Nat told James. “That all?”

“Thanks, Nat.”

“Anytime. I’d just not move on it, while Steve’s around, if you’re trying to hide that side some more. At least my opinion.”

“Anyone you have an eye on?”, Loki inquired.

Nat shrugged. “I take what I want. Not that I don’t want that one true love thing, but…” She swayed her head.

“I understand.”

“Tony was slightly pissed, that you wanted to see me first, by the way.”

Loki snickered and then laid a hand on James’ shoulder. “See, everything’s okay.”

“I’ll go”, the man said and stood up looking to Nat. “We should leave the two alone.”

She sent him a smile. “Get your gossip on your own next time.”

“Yes, Ma’am.”

She shoved him in the side a little, before wrapping her arm around his metal elbow. “Don’t _Ma’am_ me.”

Loki snickered and the two turned around with raised eyebrows. “Nothing, ignore me.”

“I have an eye on you, Loki.”

“Don’t you always?”

“Correct.”

She dragged out James and Tony stumbled into the room. Quickly straightening his clothes, before grinning at Loki.

“Lokes.”

“It was very important.”

“Yeah…” Tony watched the two Avengers leave with a raised eyebrow. “Probably.”

Then he sat down at Loki’s side.

“You look like you bring bad news”, Loki noted

“Well, good news first, Eir said you’re going to be as healthy as a fiddle.”

“I’m sure she didn’t use those words.”

“Well, to the other point then, Hill called. Rhodey, Steve and I talked to her. The World Security Council is pissed. Mostly because of James’ passive status, same with yours. Said something about us stamping ‘hero’ on your heads so you couldn’t go to jail.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah. Rhodey will warn James, and here I am warning you. Hill will keep an eye on it and Coulson will keep an eye on their actions. If they say ‘go’, you two gotta run for the hills.”

Loki’s heart sank. “What about you?”

“I’m Human. They can’t hunt me like that. And you gotta take Runa with you, if they go investigate the mansion… I called Xavier while you were out, he said, he’d keep an eye on things as best as he can as well.”

“But I can’t go to the school”, Loki noted with a sigh.

“Too risky. Harbouring fugitives isn’t good for them. Have Kurt on speed dial, alright, he can get you places I don’t even know you’ve been to, alright?”

Softly Loki kissed Tony. “As long as I can still have that dream wedding, we talked about.”

“I was thinking about maybe including Darce in planning…”

Loki nodded thinking. “Yes, she might be a good addition.”

They kissed once more and then leaned onto each other, still worried, but a little bit more knowing about the future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now it isn't even subtle anymore... *snickers* foreshadowing...
> 
> As always love to hear any of your thoughts or maybe ideas for the future, anything you'd really like to see, because I'm rapidly running out of ideas...
> 
> Also I have exams on June 10 and June 18, so if posting becomes a bit irregular, don't worry, but I try to keep an eye on it, do it first thing in the morning so I don't have to focus on it all day and panic in the evening because I'm thinking I might have forgot... *sweats*
> 
> Stay safe and stay healthy everyone :)


	14. April

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A lot of stuff happens in April, but not enough to fill more than one chapter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly altered version 1 stuff. It's a mess, it always was a mess, I hope you don't hate the chapter too much. It's all over the place.
> 
> I filled a prompt from the NaNoWriMo forums in this chapter (back in November), working Velociraptors into the story... So, if anybody from there is here, I hope you enjoy it...

Darcy coming to stay with them was fun. She stayed on the same floor as Jane normally would, so she was quite alone. Often, she could be found hanging out with James though, introducing him to a lot more modern stuff, that Loki and Tony had yet to get to. The whole team was in the tower more often, but James always visibly calmed, whenever Steve _wasn’t_ around, which made Steve giving up his apartment and moving in permanently in the tower, so much more frustrating. It got to the point that Steve was looking for James to train and Loki had to offer. Loki, apart from Tony who didn’t train much, could actually take a punch from the super-soldier.

Thor had returned to Asgard shortly after he came. Apparently, he and his shield-brothers were on adventures again. Eir had stayed for another day, making sure that Bruce was at least a little equipped for the injuries, while the Avengers had posted a job opening at the tower. That had actually been Darcy’s first order of business, they seemingly now lived in _her_ world and played into her hand and she was having the utmost fun with it. Darcy had also made sure they would all get therapists, as she couldn’t believe that people who see death and destruction could live without one.

Team outings were next on her list, after Loki had thankfully been able to convince her, that it would be better to do this after Frigga had come to visit with Sleipnir, giving an even more family-friendly side to the team. Thor still wouldn’t be there, but Darcy didn’t care for him anyway. Frigga had wanted to see her youngest grandchild and had inquired about Loki and Tony trying for another pregnancy, leaving a few books with Loki and a tomato-red Tony.

So, now they were inside a museum, Tony on his one hand, Sleipnir on his other, James strolling at the front with Darcy and Sam, while Nat and Clint were physically keeping Steve in the back. Rhodey and Bruce were around somewhere as well.

Fossils and dinosaurs. Loki had found the entire thing a little weird, having four people on the team that were definitely a lot older than they looked. But maybe that was the exact thing that made it all charming. Somewhere in there, the whole group split, with Loki and Sleipnir walking alone, Sam and James somewhere near, Loki could tell the two were keeping an eye on him, Tony was theorising with Bruce about movies and reanimating dinosaurs, while Rhodey had a firm hand on leading Steve around. Darcy was having a lot of fun with being at Nat’s and Clint’s side.

Loki looked up at the dinosaur. A ‘Velociraptor’, it was actually quite small, considering all the dinosaurs they’d seen already and seemed to be a carnivore.

“I like them”, Sleipnir said, before explaining: “Small and vicious. Tells you that you can be anything if you just want to.”

“They were fast”, Loki said, studying the skeleton more closely. “Probably underestimated, just like sorcerers.”

Sleipnir grinned at that. “I’d wanna have a pet Velociraptor.”

“I’m sure nobody would say a bad word around you anymore.”

Sleipnir smiled more and they walked through the museum more, stopping every now and then, scoffing at the Tyrannosaurus Rex and picking up a figurine of a Velociraptor at the gift shop.

“Why did you not pick a bigger one?”, Tony asked him.

“Because Velociraptors are amazing. And smart. And not huge asshole dinosaurs.”

On the whole way home Sleipnir told facts about Velociraptors and made sure to make J.A.R.V.I.S. look up more. By the time they’d made it back to the tower, everyone had promised that Velociraptors were their favourite dinosaurs and Darcy could make a successful tweet about the whole thing, calling them ‘Team Velociraptor’. Loki found it all a bit amusing, but told Sleipnir, he was taking it very serious.

Sleipnir was going to stay the whole month, which meant even more photos and a whole lot of love was spread the entire month. At the same time Loki and Sleipnir also got onto another project, Loki had almost forgotten about: Iðunn’s apples. Thor had said, there were seeds in the basket and Loki would at least have to try to grow one, just to see, if he could. Only a small amount of people would know of the existence of such a tree and it would be thoroughly tested by the Æsir. For testing purposes Loki found a place in their garden. It wasn’t the _ideal_ place to build such a tree, but it was secure enough and wouldn’t raise any suspicion.

Loki loved doing this with Sleipnir. Every day they’d go out to the place where they’d planted the seed and they’d care for their little seed together, making little rainclouds and better soil to make sure it would live. Seeing Sleipnir smile when he’d succeed at a spell was a new memory to make Loki very happy and proud. His young boy was doing so well. Sleipnir wasn’t going to be here in May, but he already promised to be back in summer for when Harley already announced he’d come stay with them again.

There would also be another summer camp this year, which excited most schools in New York and there were already several applications, which meant Tony and Bruce had to go on the search of a lot more scientists and the applicants were now told to write down what they want to learn on the application form. It could result in a disaster, Tony and Darcy had both decided, but they wanted to give back. Only a bit of the camp would actually be at the tower this year, there would be a lot done in institutes or other scientific places along the city.

Sleipnir also practiced his Seiðr with Loki, showing him multiple spells, that he had learned while learning from Eir. On one special occasion he’d performed a few on Tony, showing Loki how he could see foreign objects in living beings. That way they confirmed, what Tony and Loki both already knew, that Tony was shrapnel-free, and he had an artificial ribcage. What they hadn’t known was that the Golden Apple actually reinforced that ribcage.

When Sleipnir checked Loki though, he was surprised and then a bright smile fell on his face, as Tony and Loki both wanted to know what was going on.

“You’re with child, Ma”, Sleipnir said, very sure of himself.

Loki almost lost his footing and Tony could only blink, as he watched between Loki and Sleipnir and then joined their very happy hug.

“We’re going to have another baby”, Tony whispered and kissed Loki breathless as Sleipnir snickered again.

“I’m going to be a big brother once more”, Sleipnir said and seemed even prouder.

Loki and Sleipnir got out the book that Frigga had brought and performed a spell that mainly protected Loki from a miscarriage or a premature delivery and Sleipnir promised to ask Frigga about a spell to hide the child from prying eyes, when it would get further into the pregnancy.

“You two are hiding something”, Nat stated the evening after Sleipnir had left again.

James and Darcy looked up from their discussion, James quickly noticing the turning face of Steve, who sat with Sam and always tended to look at James, whenever his thoughts drifted off.

“We are?”, Tony asked, badly lying and Loki rolled his eyes a little.

Nat grinned. “What is it? You got something planned?”

“Me? I never plan anything.”

Loki groaned and got up. “Good night everyone, I’ll be retiring.”

“You’re leaving me to deal with this alone?”

Loki raised his eyebrow at Tony. “I didn’t think you’d want to deal with it, and I won’t say it, there are innocent ears in the room.” He nodded to Steve and, like expected, Tony blushed.

“Yeah, no, uhm… yeah, I’m gone.”

Tony scrambled to his feet and Loki gave him a pat on his butt, making sure the other would jerk a little. He winked at Nat, seeing in his peripheral view, how most of the guys in the room flushed and Darcy snickered behind James’ metal hand.

“What the hell was that for?”, Tony asked Loki when they came to a stop at Loki’s floor. Loki could tell there wasn’t real anger behind it.

“There are things the others don’t know yet, I don’t plan on them knowing before the next big event is over, it would only lead to a more tense atmosphere.”

“So, you let them think I got a plug in?”

“Easiest excuse why _we’d_ be acting different.”

“You’re horrible”, Tony told him in a loving tone.

“I am _your_ horrible.” Loki pressed his lips against Tony’s, before he felt the other let his hand run over his barely curved belly. He smirked and pulled the other near, kissing him again, before pulling him into the bedroom.

“You’re eating more”, Nat told Loki two days later, while they were alone in the kitchen.

“Is that such a bad thing? I’ve always been too thin.”

“It’s just suspicious.”

“Nat…” Loki grabbed her shoulder and gave her a sweet smile. “It’s nothing to worry about.”

“You have a secret.”

“I always have secrets. It will come out in time, just give me that.”

“And it’s not about James, right?”

“I have barely seen James in the last few weeks.”

“You haven’t been on a lot of missions.”

“I’m passive, Nat, there is a reason for that.”

“But you’ll tell us?”

“Yes”, Loki said, popping a grape into his mouth, “by the end of the next training, the latest.”

“Okay. I’ll hold you to that.”

“You shouldn’t”, Loki answered with a snicker. “Who knows…” His face got dark and he wished the thought away. “Sorry.” He took the entire bowl of grapes and walked away.

“What’s up, Kiddo?”, Clint said, dropping himself next to Loki onto the bed, where Loki had been silently weeping for the last half hour.

“I’m not your kid, Clint.”

Clint sighed loudly. “Something’s up with you. Did you and Tony get into a fight again?”

“No.”

“Even Rogers is starting to notice.”

“Next to his obsessive staring at James?”

“Yes, next to that. What’s up?”

“Not now”, Loki murmured, before hauling himself of the bed and walking to the bathroom, vomiting into the toilet.

“Loki?” Clint now sounded more concerned, as Loki cleaned out his mouth and moved to the kitchen, grabbing a box of sweets.

“Leave me alone.” He stopped for a second and then grabbed Clint’s wrist, before whispering: “But also, don’t leave me.”

“You’re making no sense.”

Loki shrugged. “I know.” He tapped at his head “Everything’s whirly up there.”

“Do you need a doctor? Or help?”

“No, I know why, kinda.”

“Loki, what’s going on?”

“I can’t tell you, not now. I’ll be holding a speech on Sunday.”

“At the remembrance event?”

“Yeah. Spoke to Hill and Pepper about it, they thought it was okay, was actually quite _brave_.”

“You shouldn’t do that, especially not if you’re sick.”

“I’m not sick”, Loki told Clint. “Me not feeling all too well, does not mean I’m sick. I’m just thinking and remembering, and all that stuff is just…”

“It’s coming back?”

Loki sighed and nodded. “Yeah.”

“Oh man.” Clint laid an arm around Loki. “You could always say no.”

“I will not. I need to beg for their forgiveness.”

“Loki.” Clint sighed loudly and Loki grabbed another handful of sweets, before making his way to his office.

“I need to write talking points at least.”

“Do you need help?”

“No thank you.”

Still in April, Loki had been reminded of the gallery openings he and Pepper had planned. Most of the families wanted to meet and they were very glad about the, in their words ‘masterpieces’ he had saved. They took some with them, because they seemed very personal to them, but overall, they decided to give the rest to Loki with the request, that the earnings would go to a certain amount to research or a cause, they wanted to support. Most times ten percent of the income would go to Loki’s personal earnings, twenty would go to a cause that the Avengers donated to and the rest was up to them.

Loki didn’t mind, he had little care for the money anyway, but a steady income was something. The P.R. team told him, the galleries would open in the middle of May, all in separate parts of a secure building. People could buy tickets to all the exhibits at once or just for one. Loki was still a bit nervous about the whole legal aspect of it, but they had assured him, that was already cleared with them meeting all the families, that they had signed the remaining pictures and sculptures over to him, under those specifications.

He felt like he was lying to everyone, because he knew that most artists he met, he never told his real name to. His face he showed, his body as well, he had found they often liked to spend more time with him in his male form, than in his female. Apparently, at least one of the artists told him, he was picturesque. Loki hated being objectified, maybe it had been a sore spot for him, when Tony had made similar remarks when they first met. It did not matter much to him now; he knew Tony loved him for more than just his appearance. Of course, being nice to look at wasn’t a bad trait.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Like I said, this chapter is all over the place, I was basically working through a list of stuff I had to address or that had to happen at one point or another. This chapter also reminded me that the story right now is still in 2014, while my head is already in early 2017...
> 
> I know I probably didn't address everything and I'm not sure if that will ever all happen, because I'm quite forgetful, so if you got anything you want me to address, I love comments, they make my day :)


	15. Remembering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Remembrance Event 2014

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you know what today is? Tony Stark's birthday, he's turning 50... yay!
> 
> This chapter is 99% version 1, I believe (sometimes I'm not sure anymore)

“Hi”, Loki said, before sitting down on the platform. He sighed a little, before trying out a smile. “We are all here for pretty shitty reasons and you might expect a glorious speech from me, but I do not have that. I know the chance I met any of you before today lays at around one percent, so you probably only know me from the news. And the news two years ago showed me as a very bad person. I know it has been proven since then, that I was indeed mind-controlled, even though only sixty percent of the American people believe that. Well…” Loki shrugged. “Least it’s more than half.”

He got up and stood behind the podium. “When it came out, that I would be attending this event, there were quickly a lot of people not wanting to come here, while the reporters practically stormed the building. People say a lot of things about me, say I am a diva. And yes, usually I would make a huge show out of this, but this day is not an event for sparkles and shine. People died. I can make excuses all day long, but I… It does not change what happened. I failed you. Yes, I might not have been the person you had looked to for saving, but I failed you. Mind-control is a pretty hard nut to crack. Getting it punched out of me was not the most fun either. It should have happened sooner. It should have never gotten so far.”

“I know there are people that want me dead, and believe me, you all would not be the first person to wish that upon me. I cannot go. I cannot leave yet. I have not paid my debt. There are still people suffering, still people hurt. I am _trying_ to save everyone; I am _trying_ to get people on their feet again. And I am not the only one. The Avengers have not left you behind. You are not alone. My debt has not been paid in full and it might never be paid in full. My service is to the people that have been hurt by my actions and inactions.”

Loki got down from the stage and knelt in front of the people. He listened to a loud uproar from the Avengers. They didn’t know what to do. He saw Pepper in his peripheral view, who didn’t know what to do either. She was only in town for the publicity anyway and Loki wouldn’t want her hand, he was still angry with her.

Loki could do this all day, as Steve would say, kneel for them, receive their hate. James was holding Tony back and Steve just stood confused, but acted quickly on holding Thor back, when the other wanted to pounce on stage. They all couldn’t do anything. Loki had put himself into this position deliberately. He needed to show them, where his loyalties lied.

“Get up, son.”

Loki looked up in surprise. The President. He’d promised to attend, when it was announced that Loki would be here. Maybe he had made it as a statement, that he wasn’t afraid of him, to get voters. President Ellis held out his hand and Loki stared at it in shock.

“We’re all in this together, son. It’s not just on you to get the nation on the right path, to make it easier, to save people.”

Tears shot into Loki’s eyes and he took the offered hand shakily. Slowly he got up, looking into the man’s eyes, who softly laid an arm around his shoulder.

“It’s alright. We trust you.”

“That is probably a bad decision”, Loki answered with a breaking voice, “But thank you, Sir.” He tilted his head in a bow at him.

“I heard what you did in D.C., son, you saved a lot of people that day. A simple act of kindness can go a long way.”

Loki showed a broken smile. “Thank you, Sir.”

“It could have all been worse. You risked everything, Loki. You risked your own life, knowing people could just as easily seen the announcement as an encouragement to come and end it.”

“Everything I do is a risk, but I will keep doing it.”

President Ellis laid his hand on Loki’s back and led him off, while Loki stared down to the floor. Tony was right behind them, but got blocked by Clint, while Loki noticed the President leading him towards Director Hill.

“Thank you, Mister President.”

“No problem, Director Hill. Mister Stark, are you okay?”

Loki looked up at him and then let his head fall. “Yes, thank you, Sir.”

“You’re pale, Loki”, Hill said, and the concern wasn’t hidden.

“I may not have eaten much the last few days”, Loki explained.

“I’ll go back to the party. Tell them you’re fine. We’ll talk soon, Director.”

“Of course.”

Loki’s eyes followed President Matthew Ellis down the hall, till he disappeared, and he let himself slip down at the side of the corridor, Hill was quickly at his side, a worried look on her face. Tears pricked Loki’s eyes and he grabbed his knees as he cried, before grabbing his own neck and pulling his head between his knees. The hand in his hair a few moments later wasn’t Hill’s. He pressed against it softly, the hard metal of James’ hand.

“Why’d you do that?”, Tony whispered to him from the other side.

“It needed to be done. They needed to know that I submit, and they needed to see that none of you knew that I would.”

Tony’s kiss against his temple hurt his headache only more and Tony himself hissed a little. “You need to eat, sweetheart.”

“Do you want me to get him something?”, James asked, and Loki let out a small whimper as he retreated his hand, making him settle it back on his head.

“I’ll go. What do you want, Lokes?”

“Cake.” He peeked up to see Tony smiling.

“Alright, the chocolate one? Your favourite?”

Loki nodded, before hissing and pressing harder into James’ hand.

“Alright, I’ll be back, stay with him?”

“Yeah, can do.” James shifted next to Loki as Tony jogged away. “So, Director…”

“I’ll just keep watch. Loki, is there something…”

“I won’t be able to work between May and September, too hot for a Frost Giant, learned that last year already. I could work on cloudy days, but only as a last resort.”

Hill nodded, understanding. “Alright. Are you scared?”

“Of what?” Loki looked up and wiped his tears away, while James’ hand moved to massage his skull.

“That the people will see it as you not holding your promise.”

“Can’t do anything about it, Director.”

She sighed and nodded. “Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Maybe give me something else to do? Something I could do from my office.”

She nodded. “I’ll see if I can find something. Anything you’re particularly interested in?”

Loki chuckled. “Well, I would call myself a bit of an alien expert, so anything that is not of Earth and could be at my clearance level…”

“You want to join S.H.I.E.L.D.?”

“Wouldn’t that be the easiest thing?”

“You will have to do more tests.”

“As long as I won’t get any field-work.”

Hill snickered. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Loki nodded after a sigh and leaned into James’ side. Hill took that as her queue to leave and James shifted Loki a little.

“What’s going on with you?”, James whispered after having run his cold metal hand down Loki’s back for a few minutes.

“Haven’t been sleeping well. Wake up worried.”

“Why? What worries you so much?”

Loki looked up to him and let his hand run over the soft beard that James was growing to Steve’s dislike. “Can’t tell you, not yet.”

James sighed. “I’m your brother. I want to help you.”

“This helps.”

“Does Tony know?”

“Yeah.”

“Does he help?”

“He does what he can. There isn’t much he can do.”

“Can you at least tell me, which kind of category it falls in?”

Loki chuckled. “What kind of categories are there?”

“A lot. Family, magic, Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D., HYDRA, dreams, oh no, you’re having bad dreams again, aren’t you? The special ones we talked about?”

Loki shook his head. “No, it’s more a magic problem, I wake up, thinking someone broke a… spell and then I’m worried all day.”

“And you can’t tell me what kind of spell?”

“Protection spell.”

“Who are you protecting?”

“Myself. And because it’s useless to put a protection spell on my own body, with Seiðr-suppressing chains around, Sleipnir did it.”

“Oh.”

Loki cuddled into James’ side and let his head slip on top of James’ beating heart, that skipped just a little and calmed right after.

“Hey, you two okay?” Sam came strolling down the corridor and James’ heart betrayed him, as he nodded.

“Yeah, we’re fine, why aren’t you out there, celebrating?”

“It’s no fun without two of my favourite people out there. You don’t like parties much, do you?”

“Too many possibilities of things that could happen.”

“Yeah, I think Rhodey and I got that too, scaling the room, looking for threats. Though not as much as Romanov and Barton, but you got that the most.” Sam sat down at James’ side and looked to Loki. “You gonna be alright?”

“Yeah. Tony’s getting me some cake.”

“Oh, cake, what kind?”

“Chocolate. And it’s my cake, get your own boyfriend and make him get you cake.”

Sam chuckled. “Maybe I will.”

James looked at him. “Really? You’re… into guys as well?” Then he blushed and Sam looked up at him a bit surprised.

“Well, I don’t know yet. Never had a boyfriend. People always want to know, either you’re straight, or you’re gay. Hell, as far as I know, Tony never had a boyfriend before Loki. Why, you into guys?”

James’ blush got more obvious. “I, uhh… Steve doesn’t know”, he then decided to say, and his hand ran through his hair in embarrassment.

“Oh. Well, good for you, that you know at least.”

“C-could you see yourself with a guy?”, James asked, looking to the other side of the corridor, making sure not to face Sam.

Sam himself shrugged and leant back against the wall. “Yeah. Possibly. If he’s a nice guy and I like him, you know? Always depends on the person. Everybody can make your heart beat louder, sometimes, because they’re great friends, sometimes, because you like them a whole lot more than that.”

James smiled a little at that. “Thanks”, he breathed.

“No problem.” Sam smiled as well and they stayed like that for a while, Loki pressed to James’ one side, while Sam sat on the other.

“Pity party!”, Clint shouted and scooted down across from Loki and grabbed his ankles to pull Loki’s feet in his lap. Sam and James giggled lightly, and Loki just smiled.

“Hey, Clint. Why are _you_ here?”, Loki asked.

“Oh, you know, same procedure as last year.”

“Same procedure as every year? You coming to my side, because you’re bored?”

“Well, last year you got Asgardian Ale banned from this shit-show, so…”

Loki chuckled as Clint pulled off his shoes and began massaging Loki’s wrapped up feet. Loki moaned lightly and squirmed, when Barnes began massaging his back, before the soldier moved behind Loki and got his flesh hand into Loki’s back as well.

“Ohh… guys… I mean, if this will lead up to an orgy, I’m very sorry, but I don’t do that… anymore.”

Clint laughed loudly. “Where is Tony anyway?”

“Getting Loki cake”, Sam told Clint, after he had scooted next to James again.

“Oh, I want cake.”

“It’s Loki’s”, Sam supplied, before Loki let out an obscene moan and slapped a hand over his own mouth, while his eyes fluttered closed.

“I… I can make cake… Once I’m… Once I’m not hungry anymore.”

James laughed a little at his back and Loki groaned, when he slipped his metal hand underneath the shirt and up his back.

“I leave you alone for twenty minutes and you start turning my husband on?”

The men laughed at Tony and Loki’s eyes opened again. “Not turned on yet, cake!”

Tony walked nearer and leaned down to get a kiss, before placing the cake box on Loki’s lap and sitting down next to Clint. “I’m the best husband.”

“Yes, you are”, Loki agreed, before opening the box and slapping Clint’s greedy hand away. “Get your own husband, like Sam.”

“You got a husband, Sam?”

“Not yet, order still has to go through.” Sam said with a smirk and Loki picked up a pre-cut slice and munched on it, moaning again.

“Very best husband.”

“I try.” Tony’s smile got from wide to fond to sad in under a minute and Loki let his free hand run over Tony’s calf.

“I love you, darling.”

“I know.”

“Pity party pic!”, Darcy shouted from down the hall, and the guys turned their heads to the brunette, a flash coming only moments later, before Darcy rolled down the hall, with the Heelys, that Tony had made her. She sat down next to Sam and grinned at the guys. “You wanna hear the scoop?”

“What’s the scoop?”, Clint asked, and Loki put another piece of cake into his greedy mouth.

“Jane pulled Thor aside. Heeey!” Darcy waved down Bruce, who sat down next to Tony with a dark look on his face. “Fleeing from Thor?”

“I want to disappear from the face of the Earth.”

“She had to do it tonight, didn’t she?”, Loki groaned, devouring the cake at an alarming rate.

“What’s going on?”, James asked.

“Oh, you don’t _know_ ”, Darcy said excited, rubbing her hands together, before rolling onto her knees in the middle of the hallway. “So, the deal is, Jane has been totally pissed, that Thor doesn’t tell her anything and especially doesn’t tell her, when he’s leaving or when she can expect him back. You know, you’d be pissed too, right, if your, imaginary, in this case, boyfriend, just up and left, and never even texted you, right?”

James nodded slowly. “Yeah. I still don’t know, what Loki meant and why Bruce wants to disappear.”

“Well, ever since Bruce here helped me out with the internship when Jane had her extended trip to Asgard in 2012, Jane and Bruce have been good buddies, because Bruce is a cool guy that can explain science really well. Thor doesn’t like them being buddies, because he’s overprotective as _shit_ about what’s _his_ , similar to Loki, but Loki’s so much cuter when he does it, he’s not jealous-overprotective, like Thor, he’s more paranoid-overprotective, got it?”

Tony’s eyebrow went up and James nodded again, while Loki stuffed the last piece in his mouth. “So, he’s jealous, because Bruce and Jane are friends?”

“Yeah, he thinks men and women can’t be friends. I mean, that in turn would mean that men can only love women. And still, instead of satisfying his woman, he just up and leaves and comes back with tons of gifts and saying, that he had princely duties. So, Jane’s gonna dump his ass and move on.”

“And”, Loki said, licking his fingers clean, before turning to look at James, “Thor might think that she just dumps him to be with Bruce.”

“Which _might_ be true”, Darcy stage-whispered, making Bruce flush bright red. She sat back next to Sam and smiled, before grabbing Loki’s box and sighing loudly. “Ooh, it’s empty already.”

“Was mine, anyway, get your own boyfriend.”

“Hmm… I should probably text Ian back sometime. I don’t know if we’re still together, I mean, we had this hot kiss a while back, when we were totally scared because of the portal thingy, but he’s in London and I was in Willowdale.”

“You kissed through a portal?”, Clint asked, confused.

“Ugh, no. We were both in Greenwich, because he was my intern and Jane wanted us closing portals and a huge monster almost got us and he ported him out and I kissed him.”

“Uhh…”

“The Convergence”, Loki told them. “There probably were animals coming through from other realms, more or less dangerous to humans and Jane probably invented something to manipulate the openings, like I did with my Seiðr, which Ian then used to make an opening appear, taking the animal elsewhere.”

“That’s exactly what I just said”, Darcy protested, “I should still text him back, right?”

“When was the last time you texted him?”, Tony asked, and Darcy scrolled through her phone for a while.

“Like… uhh, two months ago, he keeps texting me though, I told him I’m going to work in New York now, with the Avengers. He keeps texting, but I don’t know what to say, y’ know?”

“You like him?”

“Well, he’s cool. I just don’t know if I like him like that, y’ know?”

“Then write ‘Sorry, things here are crazy, can’t get a bit of down-time usually, love that you write though, makes a girl feel special’”, Clint directed her and then shrugged. “What? Deceiving people is part of the spy description.”

“Brother…” Loki could hear that Thor had been crying, as he came into his kitchen. Truly, the whole city probably knew by now, with the thunderous rain outside. With a sigh, he put down the whip and turned to Thor, draping his arms across his wide body. “Jane, she said…” Thor hiccupped. He had never been dumped before; Loki knew that. “Jane said, she doesn’t want to be with me anymore.” Loki sighed and his hand ran through Thor’s hair.

“You want some cookies?”

“I want all the cookies”, Thor murmured, and Loki chuckled a little. “What did I do wrong?”

“Do you want the long list or the short?”

“Brother you hurt me. Strike me down when I’m at my lowest.”

“You know I will always love you, Brother.” Loki patted Thor’s back and then turned to the kitchen, his own mood up by a thousand since he’d gotten the cake.

“It is not your love I want, Brother.”

“Oh, am I not enough for you now?”, Loki asked back with a smirk, before pulling out a box of cookies for Thor.

“It is not brotherly love I want.”

“Brother, forcing someone to bed you is not a good idea. I should know.”

“Yes, Brother, but I love her.”

“And yet, you spent all your time not on Earth and not with her.”

Thor put his head on the table and then grabbed the box, before turning his head enough to push the first cookie in his mouth. Loki started on a new batch of muffins and put them in the oven, before walking over to Thor and combing through his hair. When he found knots, his brow furrowed.

“Take the box and move to the couch, now.”

“‘Kay, Brother.” Thor took the box under his arm and made his way over to the sofa, while Loki grabbed a comb from the bathroom, before settling behind Thor and softly untangling his hair.

“You have to take better care of yourself, Thor. You’re representing Asgard.”

“What if I don’t _want_ to represent Asgard?”

“Did you and Odin have a fight?”

“Did me and Father have a fight? We _always_ fight!”

“About?”

“Me spending all my time away from home.”

Loki sighed. “There is no pleasing the old fool.”

“Always says he’s gonna die soon and I need to learn to become king and not get distracted.”

“He’s the one that threw you into Midgard’s grab in the first place.”

“Exactly. I think he’s afraid though. Of his own mortality.”

“We all don’t really feel it, do we? All those people around us die and we don’t. Makes us truly feel immortal. And then…”

“Then suddenly it’s over.”

“Yes.” Loki took a heavy breath, before running his hand through Thor’s hair again and then softly braiding strands.

“I think you’d be a better king.”

Loki laughed loudly at that. “Me? The Jötunn? The manwoman? The traitor? The one, that stopped _your_ coronation? Not to mention, that I don’t wish to ever go back to Asgard.”

“Least you always know what to say.”

“I’d get bored after a week and hold plays of our lovely adventures.” Thor laughed lightly. “And I’d probably ignore all the other realms while I sit and drink wine.”

“Politics is hard.”

“I’d probably pretend to be Odin, while he’s in Odinsleep, just so that it wouldn’t be on my head, if something big happened.”

“Truly?”

“Well, I _would_ … If I wouldn’t have Tony and our family. So, no, I won’t become king in your stead.”

“I didn’t even ask”, Thor protested quietly and Loki rolled his eyes.

“The offer was there.”

“I just don’t know if being king is something for me.”

“Too much power, to little free will?”

“Not enough adventures.”

Loki laughed a little. “I won’t make becoming king any easier for you.”

“If I become king… I won’t be here. I won’t see you anymore.”

“You truly think that you can’t allow yourself to see your brother once in a while, and I won’t come to you to talk about everything you’re doing wrong?”

Thor smiled brightly. “If you say it like that… I might not decline Odin next time.”

“And the Norns rejoice. Prince Loki has saved the realms from imminent destruction once more.”

Thor bellowed a laugh and Loki wrapped his arms around Thor from behind for a moment, making the other look at him in surprise. “Are you well, Brother?”

“Oh yes, I just missed you a bit. And I’m glad you’re happy again.”

“I will be alright, won’t I?”

Loki ran his hand through Thor’s braided hair, as he stood back up. “You will. After all, you are the great Thor Odinson, maybe you’ll learn from our Captain what it’s like. Kissing babies and shaking hands.”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“It does not matter. How are the cookies?”

“Almost empty”, Thor noted, before closing the box. “You know, Brother, you’re becoming more and more like Mother.”

“And is that such a bad thing?”

“No. It’s just… You’re the smarter one out of both of us. You have the kindness of Mother and the wit of Father.”

“Both are debatable. And don’t sell yourself short. If you’d focus on all the knowledge at your fingertips, you could become a great and wise king.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If any of the conversations need more names added, please tell me.
> 
> And the "same procedure as last year, same procedure as every year" is something that only Germans might recognize, it's from a sketch called "Dinner for One" and usually watched on New Year's Eve here (as far as I can tell) It's in English, so you could watch it on YouTube if you wanted and (probably) understand...
> 
> I had to erase a lot of the spin-off because of a technical error I made... I also switched the language in the document to American English, while before it was British English (that's what we got taught in school)
> 
> Also, I just realized how I can add Emojis on PC... 😅
> 
> As always, I love to hear your thoughts and ideas, maybe even suggestions for the spin-off.


	16. Time’s up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well... *slams emergency protocol button*

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOT version 1 for once

Loki had barely time to recover and look over the first few test cases Hill had brought him in the offsite S.H.I.E.L.D. office they had installed in the tower for all S.H.I.E.L.D. agents or assets on the team. On May 9, there was a note at the bottom of a new file Hill had brought in.

‘Time’s up’, it said and that was the sign they had decided on. He let the post-it-note disappear and then worked the file over quickly, before making his way up to Barnes’ and Sam’s apartment.

“Activate Frosty Protocol”, Loki murmured and sent a double to his room to move all essentials into his dimensional pocket. J.A.R.V.I.S. would do his best to hide Loki’s signature and all his actions on the cameras. When he reached James’ and Sam’s floor, Loki turned himself invisible and then went to pack James’ duffle bag, showing himself to the super soldier only for a moment to press the duffle into the man’s surprised arms. James understood immediately and put the bag on his back, putting his heavy boots on and emptying all his secret stashes, where he hid his weapons.

Sam stared at them for a moment, but before he could speak, Loki had already made him sleep, leaving a post-it saying: ‘Really sorry, Sammy’.

Loki’s double joined them and then disappeared, before Loki felt the comforting weight of James’ metal arm and pulled them to the mansion to pick up Runa’s things. Runa herself was at Xavier’s and they had to go there. He pinned a note at Runa’s room. ‘The wolves are howling; the deer was not enough.’

Then they went to the School, where Logan and Kurt already met them, Runa ready for transport. Loki sent Xavier a thankful look, before getting the carrier onto himself, soothing his daughter as best as he could. Logan handed Loki a bag and then nodded to James.

“Protect them”, Logan told James.

“With my life”, James assured him and shook Logan’s hand.

“Stay safe”, Charles told them as Loki hugged Logan as tightly as he could.

“I just hope they won’t make Thor look for me, otherwise we’ll be fine. I can’t waste my power on hiding us from the Watcher’s view.”

Kurt transported them into a snowy forest and wished them his best. Loki looked around quickly and then walked determined towards a hidden cabin.

“Canada?”, James asked, when Loki had gotten the door open.

“Norway.”

“Wouldn’t everybody expect you here?”

“Yes. Which is why it is too obvious. Besides, they won’t be looking at us, Mister Svenson.”

Loki gave James a glamour that showed him another face to anybody that didn’t know there was a glamour in place and then placed one on himself and Runa as well, transforming into similarly blond individuals, while Loki turned into a woman.

Loki led James into the bathroom, so James could see how he looked to everybody else’s eyes. Then she quickly got to fixing up the house with doubles so they wouldn’t freeze to death over the coming days, she knew James wasn’t the fondest of the cold. When it was finally cosily warm, they met again in the living room.

“You’re a woman”, James stated, getting a feel for his different voice.

“I am, if we have to stay away for months, it will be easier to explain than a male pregnancy”, Loki answered and smiled down at Runa who had fallen asleep at one point.

“You’re pregnant.”

“I am. Sleipnir found out last month, Tony knows.”

“That will make meals problematic.”

“It won’t. We’ll get by, I promise. We won’t be here forever, only until the last of the snow clears. After that we’ll move to Canada and see from there.”

James sighed and then took another walk around the snowy cabin, before getting out the sandwiches Logan had put in the bag, he had given Loki. Loki took the offered meal with a soft smile and invited James under the soft blanket she had found.

“So, what do we know?”, James asked.

“Not much”, Loki answered with a sigh. “The world security council has been ready to pounce ever since we both declared passive status. Bruce still has a remarkably good standing with the people, so he’s safe, and it wouldn’t be the Council after him, it would be Ross.”

“But they’ll expect us to come back.”

“And we will. If we’re called out, we will be there, but only for the mission, no second longer. We cannot risk it.”

“I still need to see my therapist”, James said.

Loki chuckled and repeated: “And you will. I still have my own meetings with the couple’s therapist, that Tony promised to go to.”

“They’ll expect you to be at Tony’s birthday party.”

“Which is why he probably won’t celebrate as big. I’ll see him, yes, and let him see Runa, because this shall _not_ destroy us. If I can get the time, I will even let you see certain people. But before I do, I have to make some charms.”

“Charms?”

“Jewellery and gemstones filled with Seiðr. My pregnancy will drain my slowly and I will still need Seiðr in certain situations. I expect, that Sleipnir will find us once word has gotten out, he can travel the realms at will without using the Bifrost, while he is in his other form. He will help me, and you might too, if only for upkeeping of the charms.”

“Why don’t you use it normally?”

“Because focusing the spell through different mediums is harder than through my own body. Using my body feels natural, in each form, but a charm for me is not an extension of my body like, in movies, a wand is for witches. It is something that weighs me down. Usually I work spells that need a split-second decision, using a charm would burden me significantly. But in our moment of helplessness, we might need it.”

“Alright.” James nodded and then they ate in silence as they both thought of the uncertain future.

Surprisingly, after running an inventory and predictions after a few days, the first thing Loki and James would be running short of was diapers. There was a lot of canned food in storage and more than enough firewood that would last them till the warmer months when the last of the snow would finally disappear. Runa could eat a bunch of small foods that James and Loki could, and pap was surprisingly easy to make. Moving Runa from bottle feeding to breast feeding was a lot harder than it initially looked, but it was necessary to safe supplies.

Because of the predictions James and Loki had swiftly decided to start potty training her. James and Runa worked well together, although instead of ‘James’ or ‘Jamie’, she started calling him ‘Amy’, which had flustered the soldier in the beginning, but then seemed very proud of. Of course, Runa noticed that her ‘Papa’ wasn’t around and that they weren’t at home where she could watch her favourite shows. The entire second week she refused to talk to Loki, only reluctantly asking for food when she was hungry or a diaper when she hadn’t been able to avoid it.

The first time Loki and James had shown up at his therapists’ door, they had almost given the slightly older man a heart-attack. They then proceeded to make sure that James would get a regular schedule and that Loki and James could teleport right inside his office, as James was protected while he was in session. Loki would get him when the time was up, and they’d teleport back.

On that first trip, Loki waited the time out by getting necessary stuff and eventually teleporting into Tony’s lab, their daughter on her hip.

Tony fell off his swivel chair in surprise. “Lo”, he yelped out in surprise and Bruce ran into the lab from his own.

“Apa!”, Runa shouted, and Loki handed her to her husband with a soft sigh.

“I won’t be long, dear”, Loki said and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“Loki”, Bruce exclaimed, and the dark-haired woman tugged him into a short hug.

“How is, uhh, everything?”, Tony asked, his focus mostly on his daughter who was grabbing at his hair.

“Exhausting”, Loki said and sank into the sofa.

“Are you and Jamie giving each other sexy murder glares yet?”, Tony inquired with a smirk.

Loki chuckled. “No, but I might be required to bind our minds, so we don’t actually have to work on a predictable schedule.”

“Oh. No, Runa, teeth are not for touching, teeth can hurt you.” Tony sat down at her side and Bruce quickly joined them on the couch. “I thought that was our thing.”

“It would only be for the time being, I would do the same with Runa. But only if you allow it.”

“Course, Lo, anything to keep you safe.”

Loki smiled sweetly at him and then informed him: “She misses her Papa.”

“And Papa misses you too, little one.” Tony snuggled Runa close and pressed a loud kiss to her head.

“So, what’s the status?”, Loki asked towards Bruce.

“Well, the Council is pissed”, Bruce told her with a sigh. “The American representative showed up here with a couple of military folks, we think Ross had some hand in it and asked to see the Avengers. And when all except you and James showed up, they wanted to search the building, but Tony quickly told them, they did not have the authority and no judge would grant it.”

“After they officially left the building”, Bruce continued, “they camped outside of it, for a couple days, which started protests and Tony, Rhodey and Steve did an emergency press conference, citing that none of the Avengers were locked up in the building and that their only obligation was to the job. Rhodey told the reporters that James would not join them against a very specific list of missions while you were unable to go on many missions during the warm summertime, due to your physiology.”

“Which is true.”

“Yes. Lying about that would be very bad for business”, Tony told him and then leaned against Loki’s side.

“How has everything else been?”

“Planning for the camp has been awful without my light of day around”, Tony told her with a pout and Loki chuckled at that.

“How have they taken our abrupt departure?”

“Nat said you’d be better out there than in here”, Bruce told him.

“Steve seemed heartbroken, and then, when the military showed up very pissed, I think he put on an extra tight shirt to show more of his muscles.”

“Clint went back into hiding after the military came, mostly out of protest.”

“And Sam?”, Loki wanted to know.

“He’s a bit confused, but very protective of anybody saying bad things about Jamie”, Tony told him, careful of his wording around Runa.

“Amy”, she exclaimed, and Tony stared at her for a moment, before bursting into laughter.

“I’ll be right back then, darling”, Loki said and pressed a kiss to Tony’s temple, before teleporting away, finding Sam and Steve working out in the gym.

Steve did a double take, before smiling brightly and running over. “Lo!”

Loki sent him a smile, before looking at his watch. “I don’t have much time, you two, gotta pick up Runa again, before I take her and James back.”

“He’s alright?”, Sam asked, almost a second before Steve and a little more grateful.

“Therapist”, Loki told him and Sam nodded in understanding.

“We can’t have this destroy all the good already happening.”

“Yes”, Loki agreed with a nod, “I have to go to therapy too, but we’ll work it out. I’m very sorry for disappearing without saying a word.”

“It became pretty clear when they showed up”, Steve told her, a low growl escaping him.

“Well, I just hope this can get settled soon, so we can have a regularly scheduled life again.”

“Like aliens only on Thursdays?”, Sam asked, joking, “Fanatics not before noon and HYDRA on days that can be divided by three?”

Loki laughed, the joy escaping him feeling like relief. “Exactly. Regularly scheduled chaos.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh right, i forgot to include this in the last one: any baby name suggestions?


	17. Run, Loki, Run

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki's still on the run with James and Runa

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't resist with the title (it was the first movie we watched in English class)

Runa was not any happier when they returned to their hideout. In fact, she was even more upset to be ripped from her father once again. But Loki had to, she told herself. She had to keep her out of the Council’s arms and with that, she had to keep her away from New York and the Avengers.

Exhausted, Loki bound their minds together and after that her and James’ mind.

“You can call on me now, wherever you are”, she explained to James, before storing all the supplies and then trying to feed Runa once more, before she could fall asleep while standing.

Softly, James ushered her into the single bed in the cabin. “You have to sleep, Loki, you can’t keep pushing yourself. You’ve done enough for today.”

Sleepily, Loki nodded, already knowing that tomorrow she’d have another exhausting day, as the couples’ counselling was then. Maybe she really needed a therapist of her own, even if it was just for sessions over the phone, because she couldn’t always travel there. Before she could fall asleep though, James and she heard the crashing of the Bifrost, shaking her instantly awake.

“Protect Runa”, Loki hissed, before dropping her glamour and only still keeping her female shape in place, slipping into battle armour, grabbing twin knives and making it to the door.

She pulled open the door swiftly, to see Odin standing in front of it, fist raised for a knock. Behind him, she could see Frigga, Sleipnir and Thor. She paled.

“Father.”

“We heard your family was in trouble.”

“You should not be here; Jane can detect the site of the Bifrost. Thor knows this.”

Loki put her knives away, but did not dare drop the armour, before inviting her family inside, the damage was already done. Swiftly, she pulled her son in her arms, the two holding each other close for a few moments.

“How are you, dearest?”, she breathed and Sleipnir pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“I am well. I will stay, if you allow me.”

“That would make me very happy, Son.” Loki kissed his cheek and then closed the door after them.

“Take a seat, everyone. And, please, try not to destroy anything, I don’t have the materials for any more repairs.”

Frigga nodded with a soft smile, before leading her son and husband to the couch. Loki swiftly moved to the study that had been converted into Runa’s room for the time.

“You may come out with her”, Loki hushed, and James nodded, holstering his gun and then getting up, Runa never swaying on his hip.

Visible relief crossed over the faces of Loki’s family when they saw Runa safe.

“So, what is going on?”, Frigga wanted to know, when Loki and James sat down near Sleipnir on a soft blanket. Runa quickly opened her arms towards her brother, when she recognised him and James handed her over with a smile, telling Sleipnir in a whisper, that he was happy to see him.

“James and I are hunted”, Loki started and saw Thor already getting angry, the words he would next speak, already sounding in her ears.

“Who would dare?”, Thor and Odin bellowed, and Loki couldn’t help but chuckle at the sight, before calming herself.

“The World Security Council, brother. They are upset, that James and I are not up for all missions.”

“But I am not either, I am not even on Midgard most times.”

“You have not tried to conquer their world or killed for the enemy for decades.”

“But it was neither of your choices.”

“And most of the public sees that”, Loki said trying to be gentle. “The Council does not. They only care for results and two weapons that refuse to shoot are not efficient weapons.” Thor growled and Loki laid a hand on his arm. “Worry not, the team is working on it.”

“And where is your husband in this time?”, Odin asked, “This young man is not him; I can quickly see so.”

James smirked. “My, is that so?”

Loki rolled her eyes. “No, Father, my husband is still at home, trying to work on a way to get us all back home. I will see him in the morrow.”

“And you’re safe here, in this… shed?” Loki could feel the disgust in Odin’s voice.

“We are, Father, worry not, Brother and I have camped in worse places. We can’t all have cottages on multiple realms to run to, and before you even offer, James and I cannot leave Earth.”

“But Runa could”, Frigga argued.

Loki jumped onto her feet with a snarl and Thor stood at her side only a moment later. “You dare! She is my youngest, you will not claim her!”

“I only seek her safety”, Frigga tried to calm Loki.

“You will not lay a hand on her. Do you understand?!”

“Dear, I only want her best.”

“Leave. Both of you. You will not take what is mine once more!”

Odin sighed and then took his wife’s arm, as they left the cottage, Loki could hear him tell her: “I already made those mistakes, wife, why do you intend to do them once more?”

Loki’s eyes were on Runa, who seemed to embrace Sleipnir’s emotions.

“Sister”, Thor whispered, and Loki slumped against him, moments before they heard the crash of the Bifrost once more.

“She needs to sleep”, James told Thor, “The bedroom’s up there.”

Thor picked up Loki and tried not to jostle her, as he carried her upstairs. “Only one bedroom?”, he asked quietly, and Loki nodded.

“James took the couch. Now with Sleipnir here, we will have to move again. More so, because of the mark of the Bifrost.”

“And I will have to see our friends.”

“I wish you could stay at our side, but alas, they need you in New York, even if only as a sign that you stand with them. I beg you though, have care for your words.”

“You only need ask, Sister”, Thor answered and pressed a kiss into her hair, as he covered her with a blanket. A small smile was on his lips as he ran a hand through Loki’s curls, that showed she had not the time to care for her looks, as she usually preferred them straightened. “I will stay till morning and we will see then.”

Loki fell asleep not long after.

The next morning was horrible. Runa was crying constantly and protested when they wanted her to go potty. The food burned and none of the adults were in any good mood. Sleipnir and James promised to look after little Runa, while Loki was in New York. In the early afternoon, Loki and Thor teleported into the Avengers Tower, where it was still morning.

They scared Steve, as he went to make breakfast. “Jesus, you two should really announce yourselves. Breakfast?”

“Yes please”, Thor and Loki said in the same drained voice.

“That bad, huh?”

“You don’t know the _half_ of it”, Loki told him, as she sank into the chair. “And really, you wouldn’t want to know.”

Steve grimaced and then went into the kitchen area. “So, when did you two team up?”

“When the royals started to crash the party yesterday”, Loki answered with a groan and her head slumped on the table.

“I have only, what do you call it, ‘hitched a ride’ here.”

“Ah”, Steve said and then begun seemingly making omelettes. “J.A.R.V.I.S., tell everyone that’s awake, that I’m making breakfast.”

“Will do, Captain Rogers, and Madam, I am happy to see you’re still alive and in one piece.”

“Yeah, J”, Loki mumbled, “You and me both.”

Thor sat down at Loki’s side and talked to Steve, which Loki quickly ignored, after he asked if he wanted to spar later and the two started to compare how much they could lift.

“Are you making omelettes?”, Tony sleepily asked, as the elevator opened, before a happier “Lokes” escaped his mouth.

“She did not sleep well, friend Stark”, Thor informed him, a few moments before Tony’s hands found their way into Loki’s hair, massaging her scalp for a moment, before braiding her hair, seemingly.

“I’m sorry, sweetheart”, Tony told her.

“Need to find a new hide-out”, Loki rasped and then sighed, as Tony started massaging her back.

“Oh, because of big and kingly here?”

“For one. More because of his entourage.”

“How dare Mother want to take Runa from your arms and whisk her away”, Thor protested, still upset.

“She wanted to do what?!”, Tony squeaked.

“Exactly as it sounds like, I sent them away very quickly after that.”

“They are not getting their hands on any of our, your kids, sweetheart”, Tony promised and then continued to massage Loki’s back.

“I do hope not.”

“They would have to go through all of the Avengers, if they tried”, Steve said, like it was a fact.

“And the X-Men”, Tony told Loki, “Kurt would not even let them get a hair of Runa.”

Loki chuckled at that. “I guess we have a bit of a safety around us, a shield, so to say.”

“So to say”, Tony agreed and planted a kiss on Loki’s neck.

When Loki and Tony sat down in the therapist’s office, they did so hand in hand, even if they were both in desperate need of sleep.

“So, what will we talk about today?”

Loki and Tony both sighed loudly and the therapist, Sarah smiled at them.

“Why don’t we talk about the current situation.”

“Well”, Tony started, “Loki can’t be home at the moment, and with that our daughter can’t either.”

They had told Sarah about Runa in their very first session when they had gotten to reasons why they wanted to stay together.

“And how does that make you feel, Tony?”, she asked.

“I’m anxious”, Tony said and then sent Loki a smile. “I’m scared someone will come after her, them and they might get hurt.”

“But you’re both such hard workers, putting your lives on the line every day.”

“I know, but on a mission I or someone else on the team could be right there.”

“So, you feel a little helpless with the situation. Am I reading that right?”

Tony sighed and put his face into his hands for a moment. “Yeah, that would be right.”

“Loki, how do you feel about the situation?”

Loki smiled at her while taking a breath. “I’m exhausted, anxious. Even more since Thor’s parents, showed up yesterday.”

“Why is that?”

“I had one child forcibly taken from me once before and Frigga indicated she had wanted to do just that.”

“That doesn’t sound very motherly.”

“I could not even believe she would say such things. I cannot hide from them at the moment, so… I guess I feel helpless as well, not knowing what to do more, how to protect our family.”

“Would you feel safer with Tony there?”

Loki looked to Tony, who she knew would jump, the second Loki said she needed him. “I might _feel_ safer, but against Frigga and Odin, we would still not be at an advantage.”

“And besides”, Tony put in, with a sad smile, “I need to stay here to combat the problem on this side. I trust Loki to protect Runa and I trust James to protect Loki, that guy would rip his other arm off, before he’d hand over his kitten.”

Loki chuckled. “I’m glad you trust me that much, dear.”

“So, what is next for you, Loki, what is the plan?”, Sarah asked.

Loki breathed a bit easier. “James and I will have to find a new place, so the scouting will be left to me, we need a bigger place to lay low. James needs a bed for one, and now that Sleipnir has joined us, he needs one as well.”

“Will you let Tony know where you are?”

“I cannot. But if we should be in trouble, he could find me easily.”

Sarah nodded and then looked to Tony. “How do you feel about that?”

“I know it’s for the best, but it still worries me. Especially because I don’t know if I can do anything to help them.”

“ _Can_ he do anything to help?”, Sarah asked.

“Well, it isn’t such a far stretch, that the team still has contact with us, so I could maybe make a shopping list for things we will need, that Sleipnir or I could pick up when one of us comes here next.”

“That sounds good, how does that…”

“Useful”, Tony interrupted her with an eyeroll, “Makes me feel useful, like I can be supportive without being at your side, sweetheart.”

“Well then, let’s get started on that.”

Loki returned happier than when she had left. Sleipnir showed her the progress he had made with the charms. Loki was very proud of him. They wouldn’t be able to move till in two days’ time, Loki had made arrangements with the Ancient One, who had said them using their help for such little when their family was in need was nothing Loki needed to pay for, though she did remind him of the payment he already promised for their last deal.

Sleipnir also did a whole health check-up on Runa and James while Loki was away and performed one on Loki when she came back. He had also enchanted one of Loki’s charms, actually, a bracelet of Sigyn’s, if Loki remembered correctly, to hide Loki’s baby bump. It shouldn’t really be obvious for a while, as Sleipnir said, Loki was maybe six weeks pregnant.

Loki found it a bit confusing, she could already feel the changes her body had made, so she asked Sleipnir to check if the baby was alright. When Sleipnir looked though, a frown came onto his face.

“ _They_ are in perfect condition, Ma.”

Loki stared at him, before she squeaked: “ _They_?!”

James saw the onset of a nervous breakdown, before Sleipnir could and ushered her into a sitting position. “It will be alright, Kitty-Cat”, he told Loki and directed her to take deep breaths.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Baby name suggestions? 😂😅


	18. Past

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Stuff! Filler chapter with information 😁

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *twirls* version 1, everybody, things might be a bit bumpy, as James and Loki did not leave that soon in version 1

Tony snickered as Loki led him blindfolded through their house. “I feel like we’ve done this before.”

Loki pressed a sweet kiss on Tony’s neck. “Oh yes, we’ve certainly done this before.”

“Did the cuddle-room get destroyed?”

“No”, Loki breathed in Tony’s ear and smirked, when the other squirmed a little.

“Hmm, do you _want_ me to guess?”

“I don’t think you’d get there.”

“It’s not a sex-dungeon, right?”

Loki laughed loudly, before opening the last door, closing it behind herself, but waiting to turn on the lights. “Dear, do you remember the first day we talked? Really talked?”

“I was hungover.”

“Barely. You had a huge headache, but you weren’t truly hungover.”

“Alright, indulge me, gorgeous wife slash husband of mine.”

“You wanted me to model for you.” Loki could practically feel how Tony flushed and she pressed her lips against the other’s cheek, before lifting Tony’s blindfold. Tony’s breath hitched and arousal started to gather.

“You know that image sometimes still helps me through the night, whenever we sleep separate.”

Loki chuckled lowly, before turning the lights on. Her own heartrate picked up slightly and Tony stared at the images around the room, before focusing on the statue of a male Loki, dressed only in pants and practically staring at the both, while one hand gripped the other wrist, behind Loki’s head. He was sitting on a stool and Tony couldn’t stop staring.

“Oh my god”, he whispered. “You enchanted this, right?”, Tony asked. “There is no way that worked without your Seiðr.”

“I only made sure the sculpture would take the shape he wanted, and then I enchanted it to not crumble, like I enchanted all pictures not to fade, not to lose the beauty of it.”

“This is amazing”, Tony breathed, as he walked through the room, inspecting explicit paintings and more covered ones. “This is you. All of this… This is you. These people, they… they worshiped you. Not as a God, but as a being, they loved you, not as a lover, but as something beautiful.”

“Careful, dear, you’re making me out to be a thing again.”

Tony chuckled. “Like I did back then, right? Oh god, I was so stupid. I had this amazingly, powerful being in front of me and I made him feel like I just looked at his body.” Tony sent Loki an apologetic smile, before moving more through the room, eying the only covered painting for a moment, before turning his head at a few paintings. “Man, Lokes, you’re beautiful. Gorgeous. That combined with your mind and heart… These people that got to know you a little, I want to be jealous, but I can’t. They were lucky.”

“To get to know me?”

“Yeah.” Tony softly took Loki’s hand and kissed it. “I’m really excited, we’re getting married again.”

“I know, dear. I’m just slightly worried.”

“I almost thought that you’d told James, when he talked to me a few days after the remembrance event.”

“I only told him there was a spell protecting my body, put on me by Sleipnir.”

“I can’t wait for them to know. Well, I _can_ wait, I’m just very excited. After the next training, right?”

“Yes.” Loki’s heart beat loudly, as she pulled her lover close, the other running his hand over Loki’s slight curve, before softly cupping Loki’s face and pressing a slow kiss on her lips.

“What’s behind the curtain?”, Tony whispered, and Loki smirked.

“Wouldn’t _you_ like to know?”

“You wouldn’t have put it there.”

Loki leaned into Tony’s embrace slightly, before letting go of him and stepping towards the painting and opening the curtain. Tony recognised it immediately.

“That’s Steve’s painting. He finished it.”

“Yes.”

“Among all these?”

“Along all the renowned masters? Yes. I see it quite fitting. They all show me in the form I know myself in, and that’s the form that is truly me. Jötunn, mother, loved.”

Tony smiled at the last word and softly reached for Loki’s hand. “I’m here”, he breathed. “Among all of you, I found a place.”

Loki smiled at him. “You did. You found a place in my heart. I was always the focus for all these artists, but no more, I don’t want to be alone in the picture anymore. I have you and Runa and these ones. You’re my family. We belong together.”

Tony blinked for a moment. “Wait, did you say ‘ _these_ ones’?”

Loki nodded. “We’re having twins. And yes, I’m fine, thanks to James, stopping my freak-out.”

“We’re having twins!”, Tony squealed and pressed a hard kiss against Loki’s mouth. “Are you sure you’re alright? It’s _twins_.”

Loki sighed. “I’ll be more worried for a while, but we will be alright.”

Tony smiled brightly and pressed a chaste kiss on Loki’s jaw, before his face turned sad. “Sometimes I still think you’re going to push me away”, he said quietly, “Sometimes I still think one of the others will come up and punch me in the face. I deserve it, for all I’ve put you through, you should be my sole focus…”

“Dear, I know we’re still healing, but I trust you. And I don’t want to be your sole focus. You love your job and I would never wish to keep you from it.”

“I _hurt_ you.”

Loki sighed. It seemed they’d never get over that part. “And did I hurt you?”, Loki asked, prodding at Tony’s chest. “Did I hurt you in here? I may not have physically laid a hand on you, not like when I had been mind-controlled, but I did, did I not? I hurt you. I made you eat the apple, I promised not to kill myself, yet I almost did. Hel, last summer I had a parasite in me, that made me throw myself off a building, off the tower.”

Tony squeezed his eyes shut and Loki softly caressed his face. “Tony, I hurt you, and you hurt me. We have to take precautions that we will not do so again.”

“Like go to one of the shrinks that S.I. has hired for the Avengers?”, Tony asked sarcastically.

“A therapist is a good start. I was thinking about visiting one the next few days. I need it. I know I do. James has told me his does good work. They worked through a lot.”

Tony rubbed his hands together. “Yeah, I guess, we could all need it. Didn’t Steve and James think about doing that too, before you two had to leave? Couples counselling? Well, without being a couple?”

Loki nodded. “Yes. Once the therapists are through with both their assessments, they might do some sessions together.”

“You think it’ll be good for them?”

Loki chuckled a bit, before tipping Tony’s head up. “Definitely. I can’t stand both of their sad looks when they see each other, well, more Steve’s sad face and James’ quick leaving. For a moment there, on James’ birthday I thought it might change, but they have their good and bad days.”

Tony took a deep breath. “So, should I go as well?”

“Up to you, I’d say it would be better, but I am not your keeper, dear.”

Darcy’s plan right after getting doctors and surgeons had also been getting at least one therapist for the Avengers. She was a big advocator of mental health and had the backing of both Pepper and Hill behind her. So, the Avengers got a handful of therapists. One lovely woman, by the name of Tanya Williams, was on Loki’s case.

At first, the Avengers had not been vocal about it, but James and Sam both had quickly taken up on the offer, Nat following them closely, after, apparently deeply investigating all of the therapists. Loki had thought about visiting her therapist for some time now and she was a little nervous sitting in the armchair.

“Hello, Loki, it’s lovely to see you here.”

“Thanks”, Loki answered, fiddling a bit with her hands, the pain she sometimes felt run through her left palm now very prominent.

“I’ve heard a lot about you, but I’d like to know what you think of yourself first. Tell me your life story in a few sentences.”

Loki chuckled nervously. “That will be hard.” She took a sip from the tea Tanya had made and then breathed deeply. “Well, I’m Loki. I grew up on Asgard. I…” She stopped for a while, before deciding to let out the prince and king stuff that fell so quickly from his lips. “I am a sorcerer, or at the moment, sorceress. I was married once before and I learned around four years ago, that I am a Jötunn.”

“Good. You stopped in the middle.”

“Uhm…” Loki scratched the back of her neck, before composing herself. “Yes. I usually list all the titles I have, but you do not need to know those.”

“Alright. Are they important to you?”

“The official ones, no.” Loki shook her head and then smiled a little. “The unofficial ones I don’t mind.”

“What are those?”

“God of… whatever comes to mind… Chaos, Mischief, Lies, though the last one, I find a little funny.”

“Why is that?”

Loki smiled. “I might be a well-versed liar, but I don’t want to lie. I can choose my words very carefully in a short amount of time. Thor’s friends used to call me the silver tongue.”

“They’re not your friends?”

Loki shook her head. “I do not see them as such. Unlike the other royalty, I was not well-respected on Asgard. I… I’d say it is somewhat my fault as well, I did not seek out friends in my early years. And by the time I was grown… I felt like I did not fit in anywhere.”

“You said you were married before.”

“Yes. My first wife. Sigyn.”

“How did you meet?”

“My… the All-Father, _Thor’s_ father, my ‘foster father’, you could say, engaged me to her, to stabilise the diplomatic relationship between our two families.”

“An arranged marriage.”

“Yes.”

“Did you like her?”

Loki frowned. “I did _come_ to like her.”

“Were you a sorcerer or sorceress when you married her?”

“Yes, though not many people knew at that point. It was considered argr to study the art of Seiðr.”

She looked a little confused. “What does that mean?”

“Oh, of course. The Seiðr is my magic, a natural energy running through my body, some beings have more of it and are more talented at using it. Argr is a word, that can be translated to ‘unmanly’ or ‘womanly’. I was only in the form of a man at the time, though changing my form would have only made it worse. Usually only females use the art of Seiðr, for healing purposes. There have been several powerful female _and_ male sorcerers though.”

“Alright. Thank you, Loki.”

“My pleasure.”

“But you being a sorceress means, you could have escaped the marriage easily, right?”

“I would not have left Sigyn like that. Yes, I _could_ have left, but she could not, it would have not been fair to her. I’d have embarrassed us both.”

“So, you willingly married her.”

“There were worse choices. And Sigyn did not despise me. We got along.”

“Seems like a good partner then.”

“I wish I could have fallen in love with her.”

“You wish that? Even now?”

“She deserved to have married someone that could have loved her”, Loki answered with tears in her eyes. “I do not regret marrying her. I do not regret her bearing our children. I just regret how it ended.”

“And how did it end?”

“Gruesome. I wish not to share the details with you at this time. Both my boys died, and she as well.”

“Why?”

“Because Father apparently saw it fit.”

Tanya frowned. “But he was the one who wanted you married in the first place.”

“I had to fall in line. And I’d grown attached to them, so he made sure they would be dead, kept one of my boys locked away until a few years back. I would fall back in line, if they died.”

Tanya stared at her and Loki gave her a weak smile. “And the other boy?”, she asked, scribbling down notes.

“He died five years ago, while I could not make it back to Asgard.”

“But you still have Sleipnir.”

“Yes. That he was indeed a boy, a shapeshifter with a humanoid form, I only found out last year.”

“When was he born?”

“Goodness, he must be around six centuries old now. He was born before my boys turned adults. Which is, in case you were wondering, at the age of twenty.”

“And how did that happen?”

“Odin had a bet running with a friendly Frost Giant, I believe he would have given over Asgard to him, if he could complete a building project in a set amount of time. The Giant had a stallion that helped him, so Odin sent me in the form of a mare to distract it, so the Giant would not win. Svaðilfari raped me and I got pregnant with Sleipnir, which Odin made me deliver.”

“And after that?”

“After that, I rarely went to see Sleipnir. I abandoned him, I had a family, I only wanted to be with them. And then Odin got angry that I did not do what he asked…”

“And he killed your family.”

Loki nodded slowly. “It’s my fault”, she breathed, barely holding back her tears, shakily picking up her tea and drinking it.

“Loki, I want you to make a list of all the things you regret in your life and all the things you’re proud of. And I want you to truly think of who made that happen. Because as far as I can see, you did not hurt your family, Odin did.”

Loki nodded again and picked up the paper Tanya handed her, parted in the middle, on one side in her beautiful cursive ‘regret’, on the other ‘delight’. Her hand was shaking a little and Tanya sent her a soft smile.

“You can take your time with that. I hope I’ll see you in a week the latest, if that fits in your current calendar.”

Loki chuckled lightly, wiping her tears away. “I will make time for you, Doctor Williams.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh hey, I finally brought the therapy stuff in. I know we got the whole couples' therapy already and I don't like to show everything, but I promise, this has a reason (other than to showcase what happened in the past).  
> Also, if anyone can draw (because I tried and failed) I'd love to see how you imagine the "Gallery of Loki" 😄


	19. Dealing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A follow-up to the last chapter (version 1)

“What are you doing?”, Tony asked her, as he stepped into the office ever so silently.

“Waiting, on James, and thinking. Things I regret that happened and things I’m delighted about.”

Tony hummed a little and then sat down on the armchair. “Wanna talk about it?”

“Things I regret: ‘Not being able to safe Sigyn, Narfi and Váli’. Things that delight me: ‘Having Sigyn, Narfi and Váli’, ‘Sigyn’s and Narfi’s quick deaths’.”

Tony sighed a little. “Aren’t you opening old wounds?”

“There are a lot of wounds to open. But yes, I might. Things that delight me: ‘Being able to help Tony’.”

“Is that in the same category?”

Loki nodded. Tony frowned for a moment and then took a deep breath. “Right, Váli died, while you were in my body.”

“I don’t know when he died. I came back and one night…”

“Odin came to your room, telling you of his demise.”

“I don’t even know if he was hurting in the end.”

“I hope not.”

“I don’t know if he still knew who he was.”

“Instincts, yeah.”

Loki sighed a little and smiled at Tony. “Sometimes conversations with you get a little boring.”

Tony laughed a little. “Yeah, knowing one’s past really takes the fun out of it, right?”

“Get here.” Loki put the paper away and turned with her swivel chair. Tony pushed himself off his seating and came over, dropping before Loki and laying his head on Loki’s rounded belly. “You’re excited”, Loki breathed.

“Yeah. It’s like this is the very first time all over again.”

Loki smiled a little and Tony got up to kiss her slowly. “I’m hungry”, Loki whispered, when they parted.

“What do you want?”

“I don’t know. I get nauseous all the time.”

“Yeah.” Tony’s hand caressed her face and pressed a gently kiss on Loki’s forehead. “Alright. Get up, let’s look in the kitchen.”

Tony waited for Loki to slink their fingers together before walking out of the room with her and into the kitchen. There he let her go and Loki sat down at the table.

“Okay, tell me how you feel about these”, Tony said, “Banana.”

“Hmm, yeah.”

“Good. Apples?”

“Yeah.”

“Oranges?”

“Nope.”

Tony opened the fridge. “Pickles?”, he asked with a frown.

“Yuck.”

“Chocolate?”

“Urgh.”

“Yoghurt?”

“Only sweetened.”

“Can do that. Milk?”

“No.”

“Cheese?”

Loki thought for a while. “Cheese”, she then said with a bright smile.

“Alright. Cheese it is. Bread?”

“Nope, give me the package.”

Tony slid the packaging onto the table and Loki tore it open, rolling the cheese and then putting it in her mouth. “Cheese.”

Tony sat down in front of her, smiling fondly, while Loki devoured the whole package. “Good?”, he then asked Loki.

Loki nodded. “Water?”

“Yup.”

“And maybe a strawberry smoothie. Oh, I’d kill for a smoothie.”

Tony put the water bottle down in front of Loki and then quickly kissed her cheek. “I’ll be back, sweetheart.” He jogged from the room and Loki snickered a little to herself.

Loki was not as nervous this time around, when she was sitting on the couch. Tanya was studying not just the one paper she had given her, but the five more Loki had to add to fit all she regretted, and some of the things that had brought her joy.

“So, what did you learn?”

“You were right, of course. Most things that I did or that happened to me, that I regretted, were initiated by Odin.”

“And yet you never turned your back on him.”

“Turning my back on the All-Father would have also meant turning it on the All-Mother and, in the past few years, Sleipnir.”

“And your brother. And your friends.”

Loki scoffed at the latter part. “ _His_ friends are most certainly not mine. And even if my brother and I seem rather _chummy_ at the moment, this has not always been the case.”

“But you have at least a few failed killing attempts on your ‘delight’ side.”

Loki snickered. “Yes.”

“I’m glad that you have your family on there as well.”

“The time I spent with them was one of the happiest I had been in my life. After I’d lost them, I tried ignoring I’d ever been with them. I spelled myself a few times to not find an association with their names, but I realise that in doing so, the hurt would be as intense as the day I’d lost them.”

“I’d like to talk about that day, if that is alright with you.”

“Then I believe I must first tell you about shapeshifting.”

“One of your uses of your magic.”

“Yes. By far the most selfish use of it.”

“Why do you say that?”

Loki frowned. “It has no effects on others. Changing my form may help get me out of a situation but is of no benefits to others.”

“I think James might disagree with you there.”

Loki smiled. “Well, that was a quite different situation.”

“So, what’s your favourite… what do you call them, the other forms?”

“Guises, usually.”

“What’s your favourite guise then?”

Loki chuckled. “This one.” Loki transformed and then opened his arms. “Even though for most of my life I had not known it was a guise, my Æsir form is actually one. My born form is this one.” Loki transformed into his Jötunn form and smiled at Tanya, before making himself comfortable in the couch once more.

“But you’re comfortable with your real form?”

“I loathed it at first. Jötunn were considered beasts and were told to be nightmarish creatures. But the acceptance of the Avengers and being friendly with a few mutants has helped me quite a lot to be comfortable with it.”

Tanya nodded. “So, why did you need to tell me about shapeshifting?”

“Because Váli, one of my boys was forced into a shape not of his own volition. There are three different… arts of guises.”

“And those are?”

“The first would be, taking another form that is still purely me. Like transforming into a female, or a child-version of myself. This is still me, and everybody knows it is still me. I don’t have to act like I am not myself.”

“Okay. That’s what you’ve been doing at the end of last year a few times, right?”

“Yes, though it was connected to my mental age. The second guise would still be a humanoid form, but that of a different person. Pretending to be the righteous Captain America, the shy Doctor Banner or the all-seeing Heimdall as examples.” Loki transformed at each name, before turning back to his male Æsir guise.

**I don’t like being used as an example.**

Loki rolled his eyes. “Yes Heimdall. Sorry, Doctor, the Watcher watches whenever his name is called. He spoke in my head just now.”

Tanya smiled a little. “So, you could turn into me.”

“I could, yes. But my favourite in that category is creating people. I have been many people while on Earth.” Loki transformed into a few forms he’d used over the ages, one being Janet Holsten, another being Boris McNeel.

“Interesting. And these forms are not yourself?”

“No, they all got their own backstory and how they act. It helps to become someone else, when one not wishes to be oneself.”

“It’s not really healthy though.”

“That is true.”

“And what is the third?”

“The third would be transforming into an animal. It comes with severe side-effects though, if one stays too long in that form. I call them instincts. Usually, the shapeshifter is in full control of the form they use and can supress those instincts. For example, if I would turn into an antelope and the other shapeshifter into a lion, he or she might have the instinct to kill or hurt me but could supress it and not do so. At least if they’re in full control of what is happening. Transforming into an animal the first time requires great concentration, so there is no way it could happen accidentally.”

“Do you like turning into an animal?”

“Sometimes. Some forms are quite enjoyable. Like a kitten for James or a snake for Thor.”

“Okay. But what does this have to do with the day you lost your family?”

“Phew, yeah.” Loki stretched, before drinking his tea. “I came home that day from the market, to find Váli turned into a wolf, standing over Narfi’s body. I had trained neither of the boys in shapeshifting. Well, shapeshifting into an animal, especially after me having to turn into a mare. He looked distressed, so I turned into a wolf to speak to him. That way, nobody could hear my words to him, even if I could understand his to mine.”

“Like I thought”, Loki continued, “he had not known what happened, but I calmed him a bit. I knew Narfi was dead, when I laid my eyes on him. I had no need to confirm it. I was about to help turn him back, when we were both chained with enchanted chains, so I could not use any of my spells to protect us and he and his dead twin brother were dragged away by the royal guards, in front of me and my wife, who they had apparently held, as they waited for me to come back home.”

“So, someone else transformed Váli?”

“Yes. I never wanted to know who, as my rage would have had no end, I put it on Odin’s head ever since. When the guards had left, Sigyn freed me and I could already smell the poison on her, as I held her in my arms, attempting to heal her, but I had little knowledge of such use of Seiðr at the time. I had only ever used it for trickery, not for protection or healing. I was still relatively young at that point, younger than Sleipnir is now.”

“I had much to learn, that had nothing to do with battle. She knew she’d die, and she did, in my arms. Without anyone by my side, I tried to get help from Asgard’s healers, but they only helped me wrap her body and set arrangements to give her a proper burial for a prince’s consort.” Loki was teary-eyed. “I have not allowed myself to be as close to someone since then till Tony. I knew if Odin would find out I loved him; he would have found a new way to make me fall back in line.”

“And yet you still let Sleipnir stay with him, the person who rode him into battle.”

Loki nodded. “You are right, I did so, till a few weeks past. I will arrange his permanent stay on Earth with Thor’s help once all of this is behind us.”

“That sounds like a plan.”

“Thank you, Doctor Williams.”

“I will see you with him then hopefully in the future?”

“Of course, once everything has calmed.” Loki nodded and got up. “Thank you.”

Loki knew he was dreaming, when he opened his eyes. It had been long since he’d since that place. Their home, the small place where Sigyn and he had resided with their boys. He could almost hear them laughing. Tears stung in his eyes as he breathed, he closed his eyes for a moment and then opened them again to look out of the palace. It was only a few weeks after he’d lost them. He held Sigyn’s golden pin in his hands and shifted it for a while, before putting it on his tunic. Any moment now…

The door crashed open and Thor came bellowing in, ripped him from the view of his balcony. Thor’s grin was wide, but Loki could not manage a smile, as cold was washing down his sides.

“I am so happy you are back home, Brother, I have missed you greatly.”

Of course, Odin had not told him, why he was back home. Not yet. Frigga would tell him in a few days.

“We must go on adventures again, so many realms to explore, so little time.”

So little time, yes. Loki knew, Thor had yet to find out, where Odin had gotten his new, beautiful foal from.

“But first, we feast, Brother, get some mead in you, celebrate all night.”

The sun hadn’t even set yet. Loki tried to open his mouth to speak, but words failed him, in turn he just nodded. Maybe the feast would make him forget the past decade. He wished he’d have never gotten to know Sigyn. He wished he’d have left her to wait for him to marry him. He’d have spared her life.

Thor slung his arm around him and gripped him tightly, before they walked down the seemingly endless halls. For a moment Loki’s heart beat loudly, when he saw a woman with fair hair like his wife, but then she turned and was not her. It took Loki’s utmost concentration not to shed a tear at the thought of Sigyn.

“Friends, look who I have found lurking in his room.”

Thor pushed Loki down on the bench, so he sat next to Hogun, across from him Fandral.

“Oh, look who has returned from being a loyal husband”, Fandral spoke with a grin.

“You will not speak of my wife”, Loki growled at him. “This night, I am not married, this night, the past years did not happen, this night…”

He felt his tears coming on and grabbed the carafe from a maid, drinking the wine straight from it, making Thor howl loudly and the others bellowed as well, holding up their drinks in encouragement. Loki emptied the carafe in one drink and handed it back to the next best servant.

A manic grin was on Loki’s face as he jumped onto the bench. “Tonight, we feast!”

“Aye, Brother!”

It wasn’t until they left for their adventure a week later, that Loki stopped drinking and he saw the bitter look on Thor’s face.

“What are you wearing?”, Sif asked him, when they mounted their horses and she pointed at the resemblance of Sigyn’s, now Loki’s pin, encased in his new armour, her signs on everything he wore.

“Leave it be”, Thor almost hissed at her. She frowned and Loki climbed his horse. “Are you alright?”, Thor then whispered.

“It is not of your concern, Brother”, Loki told him quietly.

“I did not know she…”

“Do not speak of her”, Loki breathed, his hands shaking.

“Your children…”

“Do not speak of them either.”

“You are hurting, Brother.”

“Of course, I am, but what am I to do? The faster I get into battle, the sooner I might die in it and be reunited with them.”

Thor looked like Loki had lost his mind. “I will not let that happen”, he promised and made his steed move away from him. Their adventure would be short, only a few days, before Thor led them back home and Loki would try to end his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dammit, I actually cried there at the end... Why do I cry at my own stories?!


	20. Cabin Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Three weeks of updates left.

Living in a nearby time zone had its advantages. Loki and Tony could call each other without having to think it might be inconvenient for the other. And Tony’s store-runs helped massively. The only one, up in a cabin in Canada, that wasn’t happy, was Runa. Apparently, she had decided to start her ‘no’-phase. The only one still able to feed her had turned out to be Sleipnir, because he would get extremely sad, whenever Runa told him ‘no’.

In this cabin, Loki and James even had access to internet, thanks to Tony, so whenever she got extremely upset, they sat her in front of the monitor to let her watch videos. Loki knew this wasn’t the best way to deal with it, but she didn’t want to worsen things, who knew what kind of powers Runa would discover soon and what she would do with them while she was upset?

Loki could not provide her with the one thing she wanted most, her father, and after the backlash their last visit had, Loki did not want to risk it again, if they could not stay. They would be staying at the mansion on training weekend, and that was soon enough. Loki had even considered leaving Runa with Tony, but after she had addressed this in a session, Tony had told her, that they could not risk it, not with him rarely being home anyway.

Hill had called Loki as well, for a second surprised to hear a female voice, but then telling her, that they’d get an update on the weekend. Loki and James both hoped it was good, that things were moving forward, but Loki wasn’t hopeful. James had been on a few missions since they had to run, but for Loki, it was way too hot. And now, with her, not only pregnant, but pregnant with _twins_ , she did not want to risk it. She would have to transform into a male anyway so to not seem suspicious and that just felt wrong at the moment.

Loki could still not believe that they had only been away for three weeks, officially. On the one hand, it was like they were still in New York, on the other hand, they seemed to have been away for what felt like an eternity. She was also really glad, that Tony would not be celebrating his birthday and that she only had to call her husband and wish him a happy birthday. They had previously planned that they’d reveal them renewing their vows, or marrying a second time, on their original wedding day, but the whole ordeal with the Council had thrown this off course.

Their reveal about Loki’s pregnancy to the team was still planned for the training weekend. James also had planned on getting his HYDRA arm removed after it, they had finally gotten doctors hired and Doctor Cho had seemed confident about the surgery. But Loki knew they might not be able to stay that long. A sigh escaped her, and she put her book away, before watching Sleipnir again, who was studying his spell book.

“How’s your teleportation spell, dear?”, Loki asked interested.

“I don’t use it much, after all, in my other form, travel like that is easier, Ma.”

“I would still like if you were fluent in it. For your own safety, Sleip. Transforming and running might take longer than just teleporting.”

“It actually feels pretty natural to me, I don’t need that long”, Sleipnir commented and Loki looked at him surprised.

“I’m sorry then, for suggesting.”

“It doesn’t matter, Ma.” After a few moments, Sleipnir asked: “Ma?”

“Yes?”

“Why do you not trust Frigga with Runa?”

Loki sighed. “If Runa is out of my grasp, I can never know if she’s safe. And besides, at the moment, she’s upset, that she cannot be around Tony, how upset do you think she’d get if she were even further away from him?”

“Are you angry that she’s upset?”

“Never, dear, I’ve accepted, that she loves her father dearly. I have spent a lot of time away, even thinking about it hurts. I feel like I’m doing everything wrong. I feel like the only children I was able to raise right, were Váli and Narfi. And they were ripped from my grasp, taken from me far too soon. You I had no hand in raising, and even when Runa was growing in me, I was too distracted to pay her much attention.”

“You try, Ma, that’s all you can do.”

“But what if my trying isn’t good enough? What if something happened to either of you, to Tony, or to these two? Norns, I should not have twins, it’s a bad sign, a curse, horrible circumstances. I should be home and relaxing, laying in Tony’s arms. This should not be an exciting pregnancy, where we have to fear for their survival.”

Sleipnir was quick on his feet, grabbing the hyperventilating Loki and forced her into her seat, trying to calm her. “It will be alright, Ma.”

“It will? How would you know? Everything goes wrong around me, Sleipnir, everything. Things start bursting into flames, they start exploding. God of Chaos they call me, God of _Chaos_.”

“But that means you control the chaos, Ma, you thrive in it don’t you, thrive in your enemies’ failure of trying to escape the chaos. _You_ set the flames; _you_ make the explosions.”

Loki grabbed into her hair and pulled herself down by it, weeping. “I cannot. Please don’t make me. I don’t want to.”

“And you don’t have to”, James, suddenly by her side, answered. He pulled her into his lap, holding her face to his chest. “You don’t have to. You are in control. You control how much chaos there is, and if others are trying to create chaos, you can take it from them as well. You are the _master_ of chaos, the God.”

“But I don’t, I…”

James grabbed her face and stroked away her tears with his thumbs. “You are in control of your destiny, Loki. All of us are not controlled by some bigger entity. Not by the Norns, and most definitely not by the labels laid on us at any point. We can be who we want to be, we don’t have to follow any set of ‘rules’. Loki, who do you want to be?”

“Me?”, Loki asked, choking on her words. “I want, I…”

“It’s okay”, soothed James, “It’s okay, we’re listening.”

“I just want to be myself. Sorcerer, mother. I want to help.”

James pressed a kiss to Loki’s brow and then grabbed Loki’s vibrating phone and put it to his ear. “Yeah, I got her, Tony.” He held her close again and stroked with his metal hand down her back. “No, just freaking out because, umm Sleip?” With a frown James looked to Sleipnir.

“Spiralled after I asked about her decision with Frigga”, Sleipnir answered with a sigh, looking guilty.

“Heard that? Yeah.” James nodded and then looked to Sleipnir, pressing the microphone away from his mouth and whispered: “Go look after Runa please it will be alright, I got her.” He smiled after Sleipnir and then frowned at something Tony said. “Alright, umm… Plan was already to come first thing tomorrow morning for the training, but we could come tonight. Hey, Kitty-Cat, would that be good?”

Loki shook her head. “I’m weak.”

“Sleipnir could take us”, James argued, pushing the microphone away again.

“He shouldn’t see me like this.”

“He’s your darn husband, he should be with you whether you’re dolled up or snotty.”

Loki chuckled wetly. “Alright”, she then whispered.

“Sleip!”, James shouted, pushing Loki’s face away from his mouth. “Can you get us to the mansion?” A few moments later, James was met with a horse that had eight legs, Runa clinging to its mane. He lifted an unimpressed eyebrow and spoke into the phone: “Yeah, we’re on our way, get some lemonade ready or whatever you rich folk offer each other to drink.”

James hung up and then lifted Loki onto Sleipnir’s back, before swinging on there as well. A weirdly brightly glowing light later, James almost fell off the same back and onto the grass of what seemed to be the mansion.

“Damn, that’s a trip I don’t want to do twice”, James said, gulping down some bale. Then he grabbed Runa and handed her off to a Tony that was running down into the yard.

“Papa”, Runa squealed and threw her arms around his neck, while the other still watched concerned, as James lifted Loki off Sleipnir. Loki curled himself in James’ arms, feeling as nauseous as James, from what James could tell.

“Bathroom, now”, commanded James and Tony practically ran into the house, sending Loki and James to the nearest bathroom, where the pregnant one threw up in the toilet, while James went green and searched for a different toilet and relieved himself the same way.

When they both came back into the living room, Sleipnir was pacing the room, in Æsir form, while Runa babbling to a only half-listening Tony.

“Case and point”, Loki said weakly towards Sleipnir, who apologised profusely. “Can you get us a few things? We took everything of Runa’s, when we left”, Loki explained, before collapsing on the couch, her face in the crook of Tony’s neck.

Sleipnir nodded and then left quickly.

“Happy second wedding anniversary”, Tony told Loki with a smile and Loki chuckled.

“Happy belated birthday, sweetheart.”

It took quite some time to get settled, and to calm Sleipnir, who seemed to be upset, that he’d worsened the situation and needed extra help calming and being told that he did not actually do everything wrong.

“I just don’t understand”, he finally said, looking defeated, as he sat curled up in an armchair, after Runa had dozed off in Tony’s arms. “You trusted me to Odin and Frigga, trusted me into their arms, why don’t you trust them the same with Runa?”

Loki sighed. “I have treated you unfairly, Sleipnir. For years I have, decades, centuries. To me, your existence was a reminder that the boys I had _wanted_ , could not live. When I found out that you were a boy, not just an animal, when I finally claimed you, I feared I could not handle you, so I left you with people I trusted. That was and will never be Odin. I will never trust any of my children in his presence again, without mine nearby. I left you with Frigga and Thor, they could teach you in good ways. Odin has tried hard to get into my good graces again, but it will take centuries to rebuild a relationship that was never one a parent should have with their child.”

Sleipnir scoffed. “What did Odin ever do to you?”

Tony next to Loki took a sharp breath and Loki laughed for a second, unbelieving of the words that left her son’s mouth. “What did Odin do to me?”, she asked again, hissing, her voice shrill. “Besides giving me this retched name, besides marrying me off for political gain, besides letting me get raped and making me bear a foal I did not want to have, before my sons even reached adulthood. What did Odin do, besides maiming my sons and my wife? What did he do, besides lie about my own lineage? What did he do, besides making me feel like a wretched _whore_ through all the stories he told?”

Sleipnir paled. “Ma…”

“Odin was a horrible person to me. Odin used me at every point. Odin made me obey with abusing everything I cared for, because he knew after a certain point, after naming me Loki, God of Chaos, that he could not control me any other way. Did you know what I feared most, in the years till I found out I was a Jötunn, after he had taken Váli away? I feared you, the child I had not wanted, but I will still love, would be abused by him. And yet, you were instead told propaganda by the man that had raped me.”

Loki stood up and dropped to her knees in front of Sleipnir. “I love you, Sleipnir. I love you so much, despite everything that happened to get you into existence. You are my child; I will always love you. But that does not mean that any child has to love their parents. My parents were not good parents. They were horrible parents. My mother was the only kind soul around, but she only gave me my much needed knowledge. I ran away so often I was able to form stable friendships on other realms. The latest thing my father has forced me to do, was kill the last of a race, almost killing myself in the process. I have done so much bad in his name and I let him do so much bad to me in return. Odin would not dare get himself bloody personally, but he would always be behind the bad that befell my life.”

Loki ran a hand through her son’s hair. “When I look at you, sometimes I see Váli and Narfi in you and that makes me so happy, because I know I am your parent. You were not the son I wanted, but I will not reject you again, I would regret that even more now, after I have gotten to know you.”

“What happened to the twins?”, Sleipnir asked brokenly, “What happened to them really?”

“What have you been told?”

“Frigga did not want to answer my question, but Eir said, they died, before I was even full grown.”

“That is true. Váli I’m not exactly sure how he died. He died, as I was on Earth in 2009. Narfi was killed by him.”

“But how did _Odin_ kill him then?”

“Indirectly. Váli was transformed into a wolf. He himself never learned that, and as hard it was for you to learn how to transform into an Æsir, as hard it is for a usual Seiðr user to transform into a different animal. This could not have happened by accident. Somebody must have transformed him and after that poisoned Sigyn.”

“How horrible. But are you sure it was Odin?”

“He practically confessed, when he told me how sorry he was of their demise. He held Váli, so at least his and Sigyn’s death are on him. Maybe someone else transformed Váli, but I would not know who.”

“I would”, Sleipnir answered. “Svaðilfari. He wanted us to be a family.”

Loki thought for a moment. “You think he might have come to Odin to advise him?”

“It’s possible that Odin did not need much advisement, but Odin is not a shapeshifter, he would have needed one to transform Váli.”

“That’s a horrifying thought”, Loki confessed, pulling Sleipnir near.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Still looking for baby names (I got two, just in case) 😇


	21. Training

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Training time!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Version 1. A bunch of stuff changed...

Loki was doing her very best. She was her very best. She hadn’t thrown up for the past few hours. She was hitting her targets point-on, not just with her knives, her icicles, but with arrows, and bullets as well. She seemed extremely proud of herself as she gave Tony a frosty high-five and grinned, as she moved onto the next test. It also looked as if Loki passed Hill’s test as well. Thor was scowling a bit, when he came out of the tests. The rest of the afternoon they all waited, and Loki tried to not make any suspicious food-requests to Tony.

“You look happy, Sister”, Thor told her, when they had a little quiet time for themselves.

“Oh, I am happy. Hill said she had news about the Council, we hope that our forced vacation is over soon.”

“You’re practically glowing, Sister.”

“Maybe you should thank Tony for that.”

“Has he been pleasuring you?”

“And wooing me as well, makes my heart flutter.”

“You seem to have been doing a lot better, Sister.”

Loki leaned back in the armchair. “I’ve been dreaming more about the past.”

Thor’s smile fell. “That’s never good.”

“I think it’s because I am talking to Tanya about it.”

“Your past always had a dark curtain.”

“Please, Brother, not always. I was on Earth as well. And on adventures with you.”

Thor smiled a little at that. “I miss those at times.”

“But you _are_ on adventures.”

“But without you at my side. Everything now seems so predictable.”

“Oh, not so fun without the God of Chaos at your side?”

Thor bellowed and Loki smirked at him, before leaning back into the arms that slung themselves around her from behind, before the hands moved to massage Loki’s shoulders. Loki leaned back and sealed her lips upon Tony’s upside down.

“Hey, sweetheart”, Tony told her with a smile.

“Hello, darling”, Loki answered, with a small grin on her face.

Tony perched himself onto the side of the armchair. “What were you two talking about?”

“Thor misses me on his adventures.”

“You’re not taking her away”, Tony quickly said, and Thor chuckled lowly.

“Even if it wouldn’t be against my sister’s wishes, the Council would still prevent me from doing so, Anthony.”

“And angering the Council is never a good idea, we’re learning that at the moment”, Loki told the two, before glancing at Hill, who came out the door with Nat, Clint and Steve at her side.

Steve nodded to a thing she said and then looked around, before hesitating for a moment, as he spotted James and Sam together, and then abruptly turned to walk towards Rhodey and Bruce, a small disappointment in his shoulders. Interesting.

“Alright, everyone”, Hill started, getting the attention quickly. “Like last time, we have a little fight at the end. Team leaders this time will be Agents Romanoff and Barton, so you listen to their commands, and their commands alone. They already chose their teams.” She nodded and walked away.

“Kay everyone”, Nat shouted, taking out her note, “James, Thor, Tony and Bruce, you’re all on my team.”

“And the rest of you bastards are with me”, Clint said, grinning widely, “Remember, no killing.”

“Yeah, Boss”, Loki said with a grin, before winking at Tony. “Catch me if you can.”

Tony stuck his tongue out to her, and Loki strode over to Clint. “So, y’all fine with the teams?”, Clint said and before Steve could say anything, Clint cut him off: “Doesn’t matter. At least I got my girl out of this deal.” Clint high-fived Loki.

“So, who’s my exchange?”

“Well, I couldn’t have James, because two snipers on one team isn’t nice, that’s how I got Steve. Then you couldn’t be on the same team as Thor, like Rhodey couldn’t be on the same team as Tony…”

“That means I go against the Hulk?”, Sam shrieked, and Clint shrugged.

“Guess so. But we got _Loki_.”

Loki rolled her eyes at Clint. “Let’s kick their collective asses then.”

“I’m the boss”, Clint said, pointing at himself.

Loki saluted and then winked at him. “Yes, Sir.”

“I’m still the highest-ranking on the team”, Rhodey said.

“But he’s the boss”, Sam said and grinned a little.

“Like Loki said, let’s kick their asses. I mean, you’re all military, let’s show them how we can go in without a plan and still come out on top.”

All was going well, exceptionally well, Loki found. Her shields were working fantastically and with only her and Steve on the ground to worry about, the super-hero version of ‘Capture-the-flag’ was in full swing and swinging into their direction. Thor was easy enough to evade for the two Air Force pilots and Loki made sure to reposition Clint after every other shot.

One time she saw Steve and Hulk in a raging fistfight. Nat wasn’t going after Loki or Rhodey, she evaded them, actually. James was the one to spot Loki the fastest, probably because of the closeness of the past few weeks and the shots he fired almost hit.

What inevitably hit though was Mjølnir in Loki’s chest, right as when she was about to get the seemingly abandoned flag. Loki coughed loudly and saw Tony fall across the field. He caught himself for a moment, before switching to all comms.

**[Iron Man]:** “Guys, that was _not_ a good hit on Loki.”

“Sister?”, Thor asked, beside her, Mjølnir already back in his hand.

Loki howled a little and clutched at her vulnerable chest. “I… Brother…” Loki heaved and hurled into the grass.

**[Director Hill]:** “Alright, looks like it’s over, thank you for participating.”

Thor let Mjølnir fall the next moment, before grabbing Loki.

“Sister?”

Loki howled again and felt Tony and Rhodey crashing down next to them. Tony was quickly out of his suit and kneeling at Loki’s side. “I’m fine”, Loki rasped.

“No way”, Tony told her and swiftly opened her chest armour, to see the heavy imprint of Mjølnir on Loki’s chest. When he touched it, Loki groaned in pain. “We need a doctor.”

“I do not… Tony”, Loki breathed and felt her breath rattling like a bad engine.

“Sister, I…”, Thor started.

Tony interrupted him: “You go to Asgard, get Eir or somebody else that can help, if we need them. J.A.R.V.I.S., inform Sleipnir that we need him, if Kurt is still at the mansion to look after Runa.”

Thor nodded quickly. “I will return swiftly.” He took a few steps to the side and then flew away.

Tony got onto his comm: “We might need a super soldier to carry Loki. Actually, both would be better, is Banner among us again?”

**[Black Widow]:** “Yeah, bringing him back to the showers at the moment, Rhodes can you help him in there?”

“Got it, I’ll be right there”, Rhodey said and leaned down to place a hand on Tony’s shoulder. “It will be okay.”

“Yeah, yeah, get outta here, Platypus. Babe, stay with me.”

“Always. Forever and all that crap”, Loki answered, donning a smirk. Tony smiled down at her and kissed Loki softly.

When James got there, Steve was already kneeling beside Loki. “Y’all sure we should lift her?”, James asked, and Steve was shifting a little.

“Might wanna do it with this”, came from Sam, who landed behind them. They heaved Loki onto the carrier, and she winced in pain. “Also got this. Banner told me to…”

Tony grabbed the syringe and leaned over Loki. “You okay to be out, Lokes?”

“Yeah, go right ahead, as long as you don’t leave my side.”

“No way I will, piss in my pants if I hav’ ta.”

Loki chuckled a little and looked away to Sam, so she wouldn’t have to see the syringe. Slowly she got drowsy and Tony ran his hand through Loki’s hair. Clint came jogging up next to them, when Loki was already half gone. Sam talked to him for a moment, she could see, before Clint slung his arm around Sam’s shoulder. A small smile escaped Loki and she looked to Tony.

“Eternally”, she whispered.

When Loki woke, she was still groaning. In pain she pressed her eyes shut, before feeling a hard hand on her head. Softly she winced.

“Sweetie, can you hear me, Lokes?” After a while Tony’s voice got louder and Loki moved to it. “Yeah that’s right, I’m here.”

Loki peeked from her closed in pain eyes and rushed into Tony’s arms, who sat next to her on the bed. “Tony.”

“I got you, sweetheart.”

“Everything hurts.”

“Yeah, I know.” Tony pressed a kiss on Loki’s brow.

Loki whimpered a little and felt James’ hand curl in her hair again. She silently groaned and leaned into it.

“That’s good”, Tony whispered, before running a hand down Loki’s side, careful to only brush over Loki’s belly slightly.

“Why does everything hurt?”

“Easy”, Tony answered. “Thor broke a few ribs. They’re stabilised, but we’re waiting on Eir, Sleipnir said, he would like her assistance with this, so he won’t make any mistakes.”

“Sit her up”, Bruce told them from the side and Loki felt James grab her at her armpits and move her into a sitting position. She howled a little, but Tony quickly moved into her lap.

“Slow breaths, not too deep, sweetie”, Tony said, and Loki tried to follow along. She shook a little, when the Bifrost crashed, still afraid since a few days ago. Tony ran a soothing hand down Loki’s side. “Alright, help’s coming. Everybody else, out.”

Loki saw the shuffle behind her husband’s back and one after another, the Avengers left, leaving only Bruce and Tony in the room with Loki. It didn’t take long for Frigga and Eir to enter their room closely behind Sleipnir who rushed to Loki’s side.

“Ma!”

“Sleip, ouch”, Loki cursed as she tried to move and take Sleipnir’s hand.

Sleipnir reached out to lay his hand softly on Loki’s uncovered chest. It was as if nature guided him, when his Seiðr flowed into Loki’s body, righting her ribcage and Loki could finally breath again. Frigga just stood by and watched in awe, even as Eir stepped around them and directed Sleipnir on what to do and helped stabilised Loki’s ribs with her own Seiðr.

“Got you all healed up, Ma. Did I do it right Eir?”

“You did it fantastic, Sleipnir”, Eir told him and Loki softly took his hand, running his thumb over it.

“Very good, Sleip, I’m impressed.”

Sleipnir practically glowed and Tony stepped off Loki’s lap so Sleipnir could be nearer to her. “I was so worried about you, Ma.”

“Oh, dear. These things happen.”

“Thor hurt you.”

Loki chuckled. “He underestimated his own power and overestimated mine.”

“It’s not right.”

“I know. And you’re going to protect me from him, right?”, Loki asked with a smirk and watched from him to Eir.

“He has quite the talent for healing, my Princess”, the healer answered.

“Wonderful. He’s been training with, or rather, on me as well, in his time on Earth.”

“And you’re still alive, as we can see.”

Loki chuckled easily at that. Eir turned to Sleipnir with a warm look on her face.

“I hope you’re doing well here, Sleipnir?”

“I’m very happy to be with my mother and sister.”

“And hopefully soon we can get all of you home as well”, Tony told him.

“Home sounds”, Sleipnir started and blushed, “Home sounds good.”

Tony smiled brightly from the side and opened his arms to Sleipnir, in which he quickly slipped. Sleipnir buried his embarrassment in Tony’s chest. Loki could feel Tony warm and they shared a fond look, before Frigga coughed a little. “Loki?”

“Mother?” Loki turned to her with an expectant look. Frigga sat down at his bedside, obviously wanting to talk and Tony ushered everybody out of the room, leaving the pair alone.

“So, how are things?”, Frigga asked.

“Things are well.” Apparently, they were going the route of ignoring the tension between them for now, Frigga didn’t look like she wanted to argue again and lose any chance of being in Loki’s good graces.

“I have been informed that you knelt for Humans”, she told Loki instead.

Loki rolled her eyes. “It was…”

“Quite brave”, Frigga interrupted her, “I’d never done it, Thor would have refused, Odin would have rather died than submitted.”

“Maybe”, Loki told her. “But I’m a little different from the rest of you bunch.”

“You know when to do what is needed.”

“It wasn’t _needed_.”

“Not in their eyes maybe, but to push the world in your favour, to kneel to them, to submit to them. Manipulation was always something you could do quite well.”

“I could have knelt there until the lights went out.”

“But you knew they’d never let it happen.”

“I didn’t tell anyone beforehand that I would.”

“The signs were quite clear to anyone that knows you, that studied you.”

“Then Thor and Tony don’t know me well.”

“They just think you wouldn’t cross that line. But every time you get to the line, it’s like you don’t see it at all.”

“It might be a good thing, Frigga.”

“One day you’ll cross a line you can’t come back from.”

“I feel like I crossed that line a long time ago and I still came back from it.”

“Thor tells me that you got counsellors now.”

“Therapists. We all need it, we all got issues, problems that we need to talk through. Usually one doesn’t become a hero, just because one wants to. I got my past… Tanya said, it is a lot of self-doubt and self-hatred, that we need to work on, before we even get to the abuse stuff.”

“And it is working?”

“We’re talking, Mother, doesn’t mean it has to work. It is giving me closure.”

“And one of those things is taking Sleipnir from Asgard?”

“He is _my_ son.”

“That you deliberately left with us.”

“Because I was weak and afraid, I could not care for him.”

“And now you can? In this state? With the things that are happening all around you? You seeing a counsellor won’t make everything better, it means only…”

“It means that I noticed that I’d gone too far, that I indeed need help. It does not mean, that Sleipnir cannot be in my life.”

“You cannot care for him. He is still a child in mind.”

“He is not a babe. He knows how to eat, how to ask for things, where things are, he is my _son_ , for Norns’ sake! You will not tell me how to raise him, I might need help with some things, but I will not abandon him again. I abandoned him once, when I should have taken my family and run.”

Loki stood up quickly, thankfully her tubes were taken out, so she could effectively storm from the room. How dare her mother tell her, she could not care for her children, because she was seeking help from others?

“Ma?”, Sleipnir asked Loki, as she rushed down the corridor. Quickly he was at her side. “Ma, what’s wrong?”

“Apparently”, Loki started, turning around to where the whole team was standing, “Seeking help makes _me_ wrong.”

“Mother, how dare you accuse Loki of such things”, Thor protested, and Loki was surprised the man had actually taken her side once more, defying the kingdom with every step.

“I only said, she might not be able to care for Sleipnir in her state.”

“In my _state?_ ”, Loki asked, stalking back to the door. “I’ll have you know that _my state_ is absolutely acceptable for all the shit I’ve been through. I have been tortured, I have been raped, my wife, my twins… I left my _last son_ behind and now that I _care_ , now that I want to be _good_ , make up for all the time I’ve lost and make sure he _never_ has to see the sight of the man who _rode him into battle_ , again, now _you_ tell me _I_ should not care for him? He is my _son_ , my oldest, because Odin _made sure_ to kill the others, maybe not by his own hand, but I _know_ he did. And you will not call my son a _child_ and you will not underestimate him. He is a wonderful being and over everything he is _my son_.”

“You are not sane enough to care for him.”

“Oh, because I’m mad? Or is it because I’m pregnant? There, said it, now they all know, now they can all see. Would have told them today anyway. Tell you what though, you and Odin are definitely not invited to our do-over wedding, when it can finally happen. Heimdall possibly, maybe even Sif, Volstagg and Hogun, but not you two _bacrauts_.”

Thor gasped and Loki turned on her heel, laying her hand on Sleipnir’s back and ushering him down the hallway, through the next door. “Ma is it really okay?”, he asked, and Loki wished, that her son didn’t feel like he had to ask something that should have been utterly clear a week ago.

“Do you think I can care for you, even if I need some help to be fine?”

“Course, Ma.”

“Then it’s okay. And like I said, you will never have to see Odin again. Or Frigga for that matter.”

“In what language did you curse them?”

“Norse.” Sleipnir snickered and Loki smirked at him. “I can curse in every language I have learned across the ages. Really helps you to get to know the people. They believe, once you can curse in their language, you’re one of them.”

“Can you teach me a few languages?”

Loki ruffled through Sleipnir’s hair. “I’ll even teach you to curse in them. Well, not curse-curse, but swear-curse.”

Sleipnir grinned up at her. “So, I can stay here, even after everything’s good again?”

“As long as you want. Well, not here, here, but in the mansion or the tower, I’d say mansion at first. You find your thing, what you would like to do. If you like healing, keep doing that, if you want to try anything else, even non-Seiðr related things…”

“Okay, Ma.”

“I just want you to be happy.”

“Do you want me to be like Váli or Narfi?”, Sleipnir asked and Loki froze on the spot, turning to the shy to the ground looking man.

“I want you to be _you_ , Sleipnir”, Loki said. Softly she took Sleipnir’s face in her hands. “Váli and Narfi are not you and you are not a replacement for them. You are not my do-over, you’re just my son, that I am very lucky to have.”

Loki was laying in her own room with Sleipnir at her side, when Tony joined them.

“Hey sweetheart, hey Sleip.”

Sleipnir just hummed and Loki smiled towards Tony, who pulled off his shoes and then joined them on the bed. “So, did I create a bit of a chaos?”

“Oh, just a little, Lokes, nothing I couldn’t handle. I’m a little pissed at Frigga though, now that I’ve seen her, knowing what she spouted last time. She seemed fine with your first pregnancy, I thought she’d be fine with this one as well.”

“I had hoped as well, but alas… And last time around, she had only heard about you.”

“Do you think she hates me?”

“I think she just doesn’t think we’re up for the task and that we will be able to do it on our own.”

“We _can_ do this though.”

“So, you’ll move Bruce out permanently, once we’re back home?”

“And make myself a passive Avenger, yeah, I’ll do that. We can have Runa and the twins and Sleipnir and we don’t need anybody else to take care of them. Of course, I wouldn’t deny them coming over, if they want to…”

Loki snickered and pressed a kiss to Tony’s neck. “And I’ll still see my therapist…”

“And I’ll still see mine. And we’ll still might see ours, if we need to.”

“We can do this.”

“Yes, we can.” Tony kissed her softly and they could hear Sleipnir hum again.

“We’ll be a big happy family”, Loki said and held Sleipnir closer.

“I can help you with Runa, Ma, just like I am at the moment, in the cabin”, Sleipnir said, sleepily.

“Only if you want to, dear”, Loki answered him and watched as Tony softly laid his hand on Loki’s belly.

“The others want to come and see you”, Tony breathed, before looking up in Loki’s eyes.

“Then let them come. Tell them to be quiet though, Sleipnir is exhausted.”

“Am not”, his son protested.

“Are too”, Loki told him and pressed on his nose, “You know, Sleipnir, if you wanted to shift into a younger form to adjust to your mindset, the others are pretty used to it with me.”

“You’d be alright with that?”

“Yeah. We’re going to take care of you.”

“Alright”, Sleipnir murmured and quickly slipped to be quite smaller. Loki ran a hand down his side and laid the blanket over Sleipnir’s body, as the other hummed again and then slowly fell asleep.

“So cute”, Tony whispered, and Loki smiled at him.

“Get the others”, she hushed, and Tony nodded.

Tony got up and left the room, coming back a few moments later with the Avengers in tow. Clint saw Sleipnir the quickest and his face fell into a fond smile.

“So”, Loki asked, holding Sleipnir closer, “any questions?”

“Are you alright?”, Thor asked, trying to be silent, but not entirely achieving it.

“My Seiðr is low, but Sleipnir healed me. My body is fine, the babies are fine.”

“About that”, Clint started and then frowned, “Did you say bab _ies?_ As in more than one?”

“Twins. That’s why I’m a bit more scared about losing them. You were going to ask?”

“How could we not see that before?”

“A spell. Only those that know I’m pregnant, can see I’m pregnant.”

“Smart”, Sam said, “So that’s the reason you won’t be doing any missions?”

“One of the reasons. The pregnancy will keep my Seiðr lower than usual, till the end of it, where it will be basically non-existent. The heat in summer is not good for me, the best temperatures for me are lower ones. Even around your usual 20°C I am already a bit unstable, though centuries of living in those temperatures have made me capable of staying in it. At a good 30°C I will already be very sick. While my core temperature will not be affected much, I will not feel very well. My core temperature usually lies around 0°C and colder is always better for me. Raising my core temperature could result in brain damage and eventually kill me. High temperatures around me just make me pass out.”

Sam nodded slowly. “So, when are you due?”, Nat asked.

Loki chuckled a little. “In November or early December. So y’all will have to hold out for a while.”

“You also said something about a do-over wedding?”, Clint said with a raised eyebrow.

Loki looked to Tony and smiled. “Yes”, her husband answered, “You’re all invited, it was planned to be on the 21st and we would be doing it on a private island. Kurt had already been informed, so if the Avengers _should have_ been needed that day, we’ll be able to return at a moment notice. _But_ at the current moment it’s been put on hold until the Council has calmed down.”

“You planned it for this month?”, Steve asked concerned.

Tony explained: “Yeah. The island is pretty southern, so it would be quite chilly, the party will be indoors though, but you might want to pack scarfs and mittens, could be that we’ll be making one or two snowmen, if the weather is good.”

“We’ll be printing invitations and what you should bring, once we know if it can happen. It’s not too formal, but if you’ll need a nice suit…”, Loki started and looked to Tony.

“Well, let’s just say, I have a few designers on call”, Tony told them with a wink.

“Would I be invited as well?”, Hill asked, “Because I got some good news.”

“What is it?”, Loki asked interested, and the other Avengers turned to the Director as well.

“Your cases are finally going to court. We’re going with Barnes’ prisoner of war case first, so we also can ensure that he never can be forced to face his captors or a similar group of people again. His case should be easier to prove, while Loki’s is more delicate. With your predicament, Loki, and inability to properly protect yourself, we wouldn’t want to risk a mob in front of the courthouse.”

“If you say so, Director, then I guess I must invite you and maybe your Co-Director as well to our wedding, don’t you think, dear?”

“I think so, definitely. J.A.R.V.I.S. get everything rolling, invites sent out of our list, we need to plan a wedding.”

The team chuckled and then a bunch of different phones around the room chimed. “Done, Sir.”

“You should get Darcy on board with the planning of the wedding, I bet she’d love to help.”

“Oh, she’s gonna freak out”, Tony told Loki and pressed a big kiss on Loki’s mouth, before grabbing Hill and hugging her tightly. “Thank you!”

Loki chuckled and then cuddled close to Sleipnir again, after waving a hand at the team. “Dismissed, everybody, get some sleep, the world will look brighter in the morning.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the longest chapter in "Interlude"...


	22. James Buchanan Barnes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James gets his arm removed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is where it gets tricky. Most of this is version 1, only a few location and time changes...  
> It's a roller coaster, hang on for a bumpy ride...  
> But that's what happens if two things get combined when they were more apart before...

James was nervous as he stepped into the med bay. Today Bruce, Tony and the new doctor would take off his arm. He’d wanted that for months and even spoke about it to his therapist. James was also pretty happy, that Loki was here today. He’d wanted to ask Sam, but when he went to him, he was talking with Steve, so he went away. Loki was smiling at him, she seemed pretty cheerful herself and James knew she had every reason to, things were finally looking up.

The chair was similar to the one that he had always gotten his mind wiped in, when he told Tony that, Tony almost threw the whole thing out of the window, but James could stop him. They changed it a little, made the setting more colourful and James calmed again. They had to secure him, of course, but as long as he wouldn’t be sedated, he’d be fine, he told himself.

His eyes wandered to Loki’s baby-bump again and Loki chuckled a little, before moving his flesh hand on top her belly. James’ heart jumped and he stroked it softly.

“I want kids one day”, he whispered and felt Loki’s hands cradle his hair.

“Then you’ll have kids one day”, Loki told him, before accepting the stool on wheels, that Tony had brought her.

James looked at her in awe, before his brow furrowed. “You think I’d be a good parent?”

“I think everyone has the opportunity to be a good parent, James.”

James hummed a little and looked around. “You didn’t tell anyone, right?”

“About what?”, Loki asked and then winked at him. “Why isn’t Sam here though? You’re such good friends.”

“When I wanted to ask, he was talking to Steve.”

Loki nodded a little. “Do you want him here?”

James felt his heart rate pick up and he blushed. “Y-Yeah.”

“J.A.R.V.I.S., please ask Sam, if he wants to be moral support for James, while he gets his metal arm removed.”

“Do you want me to wait, until he is alone?”, J.A.R.V.I.S. asked back.

“Not necessary, anyone that doesn’t know he’s getting his arm removed, will know by the afternoon, right James?”

James nodded quickly. It wouldn’t matter anymore, he wanted the thing off, nobody would convince him otherwise.

“He has been informed. He, Rogers and Barton seem a little surprised and Captain Rogers would like to know when this is happening.”

“Tell them it’s happening in around ten minutes”, Loki told J.A.R.V.I.S., “And only Wilson has been invited out of the three of them. You can also tell them, that Tony, Bruce and I are with him already.”

James sighed a little and urged Loki closer, before running his hand over Loki’s curve again. “This distracts a little”, he breathed.

“As long as you’re happy”, Tony said from his side and James looked over to him, to see Bruce applying a numbing agent around the metal on his shoulder. They shared a smile and James nodded towards Tony.

“As long as you’re not pissed, that I’m touching your wife.”

Tony chuckled. “You see her like a sister and we’re both fine with you being part of our family.”

“Good, just confirming”, James answered, and Loki lifted her shirt so James could run his hand directly over the bump. He saw a little yellow colouring on the edge where Loki’s shirt now laid and softly lifted the shirt up more to reveal the imprint of Thor’s hammer. “Does it still hurt?”, he whispered. Loki nodded a little.

“It’s all fixed, but it still hurts, will for a couple of days”, Loki told him, and James sighed, before pulling the shirt down to frame her belly.

“As long as these two are okay as well.”

“They are”, Loki said, and James looked up with tears in his eyes.

“Man, I love babies”, he answered and snickered.

“You’re welcome to babysit every now and then”, Tony told him from the side, “Though with Frigga disapproving, we’re kinda going it alone, to show her that we can do it.”

“I’m getting thrown out”, Bruce stage-whispered and they all chuckled a little.

“They must be so tiny at the moment”, James said, “I wish I could know what it feels like.”

“Well, _I_ can’t feel them yet, in a month maybe”, Loki told him.

“Are you excited?”, James asked, again flushing a little.

“Very”, Loki whispered and turned to smile towards Sam, who was coming in.

“So, you’re getting your arm removed”, Sam said, in a little disapproving tone, “ _Were_ you going to tell me beforehand?”

“Steve was there”, James tried to excuse himself and concentrated on running his hand across Loki’s bump again, while Sam got another rolling stool.

“Sorry, then”, Sam told him and watched his hand. “Distracting yourself?”

“I like kids”, James whispered and then looked to Sam. “Do you like kids?”

Sam sighed and then nodded. “Love ‘em. My sister has two of ‘em.”

“Do… do you _want_ kids?”

“Of my own? Phew, that’s a heavy question. One day, yeah, in the middle of super-heroing? I don’t think I could do it. I mean, I can’t even find a date, while I know that they could be put in danger if one of the bad guys has it out for me.”

James nodded. “But if Tony and Loki can do it…”

“Yeah…”, Sam answered, eying Tony suspiciously and he could practically feel the man shiver.

James frowned. “What’s going on?”

Loki rolled her eyes. “There was an incident before you joined and Tony is still on probation with Sam, Clint, Steve… a bunch of people.”

“Clint doesn’t like the whole do-over wedding”, Sam told Loki and Loki sighed loudly, while Tony paled a little, before fidgeting with his hands. “He says you should go to marriage counselling, before you do that again.”

“And we _have_ been”, Loki pressed, “Our next session is tomorrow. Then we can talk about the _second_ Frigga incident.”

“I thought you two were happily married, what’s going on?”, James asked, getting more and more confused by the minute.

Tony lowered his head. “I hit Loki last year”, he spoke so quietly, that James almost didn’t hear it.

Loki took Tony’s hand and kissed it softly. “We’ve been over it, time and time again, dear.”

“Yeah, I’ll still blame myself for years.”

“Let’s not talk about it today. We’re all here for James, I’d hate to uninvite you, Sam.”

“Alright. Sorry for bringing it up”, Sam answered and nodded towards Tony, “If you’re working on it and you’re getting counselling…”

“I’m even going to my own therapist”, Tony said proudly, before blushing a little and running his hand through his hair, “I shouldn’t be so proud of that, should have done that years ago.”

“Honey?”, Loki asked.

“Yes?”

“Shut up and get to work.”

“Yes, Madam.” Tony gave Loki a chaste kiss and James looked away, hoping his blush wouldn’t be noticed by Sam.

“So, what’s the first thing you’ll do, when you get the arm off?”

James laughed a little at the question from Sam and then ran his hand through his hair. “Y’ know, I never… I don’t know. That’s the kinda question you ask a person that _gets_ an arm, not one that loses one.”

Sam smiled. “Are you gonna try and cook a little with me?”

“What are you gonna cook?”

“Was thinking about making something with chicken.”

“If you think I can handle it.” James lowered his gaze and then took Loki’s wrist again, making the other absentmindedly look at him and smile.

“I know you can. Clint’s a bit disappointed, said, he just ordered like seven hundred magnets to put on your arm.”

James grinned, before letting his smile fall. “And, uh… Steve?”

“I think he doesn’t know what he should think. On the one hand, something from HYDRA is getting destroyed, but on the other hand you’ll lose your arm, _again_.”

“And what do you think?”

“I think you should do whatever feels right for you. For you that arm is like a nightmare, every time you look at it.”

“Am I that see-through?”

“No. I can just see you.”

James looked up into Sam’s eyes and his heart warmed, as he smiled. “Thank you, Sam.”

“You sure, you don’t want Darcy here?”

“Darcy?”, Loki asked intrigued and slightly confused as James paled.

“Yeah, he and Darcy had been going out…”

“We were not going out”, James interrupted Sam.

“So, it was just sex?”, Sam asked, with a raised eyebrow, “I thought you old-timers were above that.”

“Don’t start with that… that, I don’t even know what it is. I was frustrated and she was frustrated, and we helped each other, fuck off.” James rammed his pointer finger in Sam’s chest. “We’re… we… Darcy and I are friends. And friends help each other out.”

“You ever help Steve out that way, back in the day?”

James paled. “Get out. Take that back or get out. Yes, I fucking loved that little squirt, but I would have never ever… How dare you even think that. I was an honest man.”

“So, you didn’t scratch each other’s backs like that? See, it’s _different_ with Darcy.”

James wanted to hit Sam. “You don’t know anything about me, Wilson. Get out.”

Sam looked like he’d been struck and got up and walked away.

“So, you and Darcy?”, Loki asked quietly, when the door had closed behind Sam.

“It’s just to scratch an itch”, James murmured.

“An itch you’d rather have someone else scratch.”

“I need a new room, once we really get back.” Loki and he had agreed to stay at the cabin till the wedding, just to be on the safe side.

Loki sighed and massaged James’ hand. “First we take off that arm. After that, we can figure out new living arrangements.”

James nodded slowly. “Why did he do that though?”

Loki shrugged. “Maybe he thought you were hurting yourself with sleeping with someone you don’t care about in that way. Or well, maybe he’s just been spending a little too much time with a different super soldier, as the other was out of town.”

Moving back to the cabin wasn’t that hard, and Runa even calmed, after Tony had visited the first time. Kurt was invited to see them as well and slowly, the cabin started bustling with life. James was helping Sleipnir cook, mostly just reading off the recipes and showing Sleipnir what to use.

It made James feel useful, as he otherwise felt a little useless, with just one arm, but Tony was working with, according to him, experts to get him a super-cool arm, once he was fit again, and if he even still wanted it then. After all, James hadn’t decided to not have an arm, he just didn’t want to be ‘the fist of HYDRA’ anymore. It made him feel more human.

Sleipnir checked his shoulder every morning for infections, to make sure he healed correctly, because it needed to be healed before they could put a new anchor on James’ shoulder, where his arm would sit on. That would require surgery and the doctor had told them, that she wouldn’t do it without James’ being sedated this time.

That, Sleipnir and James worked on together as well. James would let Sleipnir put him under with a spell and leave him like that for thirty minutes, before pulling him out again. The first few times James had attacked Sleipnir and then apologised profusely, but it was getting better each time.

“Let’s make another cake”, Loki announced, her cravings now showing more and more, which seemed to amuse the whole cabin.

Sleipnir cheered and Tony smiled from Runa’s play area at her.

“What kind of cake are we making this time?”, Sleipnir asked Loki and James held out the recipe book to him. Sleipnir flipped through the book, his tongue sticking a little out between his lips and he slammed the book down on the counter, pointing at the picture.

“Blueberry muffins?”, James asked.

“Yes, but dozens.”

“Of course”, Loki said, as if anybody could think any differently, “How many dozen?”

Sleipnir thought for a moment. “A _dozen_ dozen”, he then answered with a grin.

“Darling, mind going out to buy, umm… three kilos worth of blueberries, fresh if you can?”

Tony stared at her and then looked to Sleipnir, his face melting in a moment, at Sleipnir’s pleading eyes. “Make sure you watch Runa, while I’m out hunting for blueberries.”

“Blueberries are creatures?”, Sleipnir asked in shock, he was a vegetarian.

“No, blueberries are just rare, because so many people love to eat them. I’d have said something if it were meat”, Loki explained.

“Okay, Ma.”

Loki kissed Sleipnir’s temple, before Tony walked over and kissed both of theirs. “I’ll be back, my sweethearts.”

“I expect a picture of you carrying a whole lot of blueberries to satisfy your blueberries.”

Tony laughed at Loki and kissed her softly. “I remember how much you loved blueberries last year.”

“You remember wrong”, Loki answered, “It was you who wanted to be filled top to bottom by blueberries.”

Tony flushed and James coughed abruptly, before Tony kissed Loki once more. “I’ll make sure to get the newspaper their story of the day.”

“You do that”, Loki answered him.

Loki grabbed the ingredients for the dough and watched Sleipnir weigh them and put them into a big bowl, following the recipe to a point, after multiplying the weight or number of ingredients in his head by twelve. Loki was amazed by his son, but he always seemed to be. He was a quick learner. Loki’s heart warmed at the sight of him and he went over to watch Runa, leaving Sleipnir by himself.

For a moment, Loki’s breath hitched, as Sleipnir smiled at him and looked exactly like Narfi and Váli had. Loki didn’t know if she’d ever get over their deaths.

“Heimdall?”, she whispered, running a hand over Runa’s head and turning away from Sleipnir.

**My princess?**

“Did they suffer?”

**Do not speak in riddles with me, Loki.**

“When my sons died, did they suffer?” Heimdall stayed silent. Loki frowned a little and turned to Sleipnir, who had a questioning look on his face. “Heimdall?”, she asked once more, to check her suspicions.

**You have been lied to.**

Loki’s frown got deeper. What was the lie?

“What is it you want from me?”, Thor asked, sulking about something, that Loki didn’t even want to know.

“Are they dead?”, Loki asked, as she brushed past Thor into his apartment, having left Runa with James and teleported there at a moment’s notice.

“Who?”

“Narfi and Váli!”

“Of course, they are. What brought this on?”

Loki brought her hands into her hair and grabbed it tightly. “Then what’s the lie, Heimdall? Are they not mine?”

**They are yours. Thor does not know any better either.**

“Hey!”, Thor shouted, obviously, Heimdall was sharing with them both.

“Are they alive, Heimdall?”, Loki asked, fiddling with her fingers.

**I cannot say.**

“Are their spirits released?”, Thor asked, having played the game with Heimdall like Loki for centuries.

**That they are not.**

“Are they dead, Heimdall?”, Thor asked again.

**I cannot say.**

Loki bit on her lip. Obviously, someone had tried to silence their Watcher, they could not ask him any direct questions, so Loki had to think around corners. “Did Narfi die on the same day that Sigyn did?”

**No.**

Loki and Thor stared at each other. “Is Sigyn dead?”, Thor asked, and Loki rolled her eyes at him.

**Yes.**

“Did Váli die, while I was stranded on Earth the time, I met Tony?”

**No.**

Thor and Loki stared at each other. Loki felt nauseous. She frowned and then she _really_ felt nauseous, before she ran to Thor’s bathroom and threw up into the other’s toilet.

Sleipnir and Tony knelt at Loki’s bed, as she woke. “What’s going on?”, Loki croaked.

“You passed out on Thor’s floor”, Tony informed her, “Sleipnir brought us to the tower, when your brother called through J.A.R.V.I.S. in distress.”

 _‘It was all a dream.’_ “No”, Loki whispered, shaking her head, “don’t give me hope and drop it like that.”

“What hope?”, Tony asked.

“Where’s Thor?”

“He went back to Asgard”, Sleipnir said quietly, rocking Runa in his arms.

“Did he say something?”

“He said, he had to check something”, Tony told her, helping Loki into a sitting position and sitting down next to her.

“That oaf. Heimdall, is he doing something stupid?”

**At least he did not go to Odin.**

“So, what we talked about… It wasn’t a dream?”

**Yes. You passed out, after throwing up.**

“Good. Well, not, good, but… I’m going crazy. I am crazy.” Loki chuckled and ran a hand through her hair. “This brings so many more questions.”

“What’s going on, Ma?”, Sleipnir asked and sat down at her other side.

“Narfi and Váli… They might not be dead after all. Or at least they didn’t die, when I thought they did.” Sleipnir and Tony stared at her in disbelief and Loki got up. “I… I know it’s crazy.”

“You told me they were dead”, Tony told her, “You were so sure.”

“And I still am, I don’t know how… There must have been foul play.”

“Can Odin resurrect people?”, Sleipnir asked and Loki frowned for a moment.

“No. He wouldn’t. The dead, they don’t come back the way… They are not the same.”

“You said, Odin was sorry for all he did to you, so Sleipnir might have a point.”

“Heimdall said, they didn’t _die_ that day.”

“So, they are alive, or were alive? Where were or are they?”, Tony asked, and Loki shrugged helplessly.

“I don’t want to have hope, but what _if_ they are alive?”

“Did you not see their lifeless bodies?”, Sleipnir asked, not yet convinced.

“Váli’s I never saw. Narfi’s I saw, but I never touched his body. I would have known, if I…” Loki ran another hand through her hair. “I just trusted his word. I abandoned my sons. I really _am_ a bad parent.”

Sleipnir was quicker than Tony, as he stood. “You are not. You didn’t know, how could you have known? You trusted their words.”

“But I still…” Loki slipped to the ground, burying her head in her hands. “I should have tried… I just gave up.”

“Because you believed Odin would actually kill them”, Tony told her, “Because you knew he was so cruel.”

Loki looked at him. “I think he actually did. He did try. He believed it. He told me, they were dead, and I heard no lie.”

“Must have been Frigga”, Sleipnir silently said, kneeling in front of Loki and Loki took Runa from him, caressing her softly.

“And I spat at her, sent her away.”

“To protect us”, Sleipnir said emphatically.

“But why would Heimdall tell you now?”, Tony asked.

“Maybe, because I can save them”, Loki hushed, looking down at her sleeping daughter.

“Maybe, because you _need to_ save them”, Sleipnir told her and Loki looked up in surprise.

“But that would mean, they must be on Earth. How? If they’d gone through Asgard… The Convergence.”

Tony and Loki stared at each other and Loki handed Runa over to him, letting Sleipnir help her up.

“Do you want me to help, Ma?”, Sleipnir asked.

“I might need your help, you glorious, beautiful being”, Loki answered, peppering Sleipnir’s forehead with kisses, till Sleipnir giggled. “J.A.R.V.I.S. pull up anything that might have something to do with the Convergence or have been a result of it. Any places wormholes opened up and any strange or unusual sightings reported in the days around the Convergence.”

“The sightings of a naked Doctor Selvig as well?”

Loki raised her eyebrows and then shrugged. “Yeah, might as well, before we miss anything.”

“You want to do this _now?_ ”, Tony asked, “Two weeks before our wedding, while you’re pregnant?”

“Yes, dear, _now_ , they are half Jötunn. Sleipnir here is almost overheating… J.A.R.V.I.S. cross-reference with places that are getting unusually warm, something that might result in a heatstroke for a Jötunn.”

“Will do, Madam.”

“Love?”, Loki asked towards Tony.

“Yeah?”

“Can you take care of Runa, while we track down Váli and Narfi?”

“Yeah, of course.”

“Alright. And would you mind, if we borrowed Clint and the Quinjet?”

“Kinda.”

“You’ll figure it out. We’ll return before Clint’s birthday.”

“He has a birthday soon?”

“He doesn’t want anyone to know, he feels old.”

Loki quickly kissed Tony and grabbed Sleipnir’s hand, before rushing them to the elevator, driving directly to Nat’s and Clint’s floor.

“Barton! We need to fly to Britain to save my thought-dead twins from an inevitable heat-stroke.”

“Your what?”, Clint asked, as he poked his head from his room.

“Váli and Narfi, my twins, the other two, apparently not dead, probably got to Earth during the Convergence, which only really effected Europe, so… You in?”

“Saving two half-Jötunn kids, not the weirdest thing I’ve done.” Barton grabbed his jacket. “We should check in with S.H.I.E.L.D. in Britain though, something about showing your son the beauties of Earth.”

“Great idea. And we’re stealing the Quinjet.”

“Of course.” Barton slipped between Sleipnir and Loki, patting them on their backs. “Onto the next adventure, so where are your sweethearts?”

“No fucking clue.”

“Great. And how do you know they’re on Earth?”

“It’s a guess”, Sleipnir told Clint.

“Even better”, Clint said. “Do we have tinfoil hats on board the Quinjet?”

“Possibly”, Loki answered with a shrug.

“Fantastic. Nat we’re off.”

“Don’t die, you idiots”, came from Nat’s room and Loki chuckled a little.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *grins mischievously* I had to.


	23. Search Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *snickers* Version 1

When the three sat down in London, they were welcomed by Jane and Doctor Selvig, who said, he really wanted them to call him Erik.

“Well, us three, working together again, who’d have thought?”, Erik said, as he laid his arms around Clint’s and Loki’s shoulders.

Loki grimaced a little. “Yeah, weird.”

“So!”, Jane said loudly, before pulling Loki away from the group and handing Loki her StarkPad. “Darcy clued me in about your twins, after Tony clued everybody else in on why Thor disappeared, again.” She rolled her eyes and Loki smiled a little. “J.A.R.V.I.S. has a string of robberies that sounded more like uncontrolled magic outbursts, when you know what to look for.”

Loki scrolled through the articles. “No photos?”

“The best they got was the description of someone saying, he saw a turquoise blur. After they asked, if it wasn’t green, because the Council’s been after your ass for a while now, he shouted at them, that he knew his ‘bloody colours’, that ‘it wasn’t navy, it wasn’t sky-blue and it wasn’t grass-green’.”

“Turquoise. Alright.” Loki shrugged. “Better than nothing, I guess.”

“It’s still a long shot”, Clint said from behind them, before frowning and saying: “Pun not intended.”

“J.A.R.V.I.S. do you have a map for us, or are they moving at random?”

“I might want to tell you, that S.H.I.E.L.D. has decided to put those activities under a watchful eye. But yes. And I am distracting S.H.I.E.L.D. at the moment to achieve the same.”

“J.A.R.V.I.S. I’d kiss you, if you weren’t a machine and working against my boss, which I should really be totally against”, Clint told them and they jumped into the car, that Jane was going to drive, Loki quickly sitting on shot-gun after checking with Sleipnir, if he was okay sitting without her in the back.

Jane drove for a while and informed them how things were going in London. By the time they reached the woods, where they thought Narfi and Váli might be in, it was already night.

“It might be better, if Sleipnir and I go alone”, Loki told them, having put on his male guise so his sons could recognise him more easily. “They might recognise Sleipnir as my son, but they could feel threatened by all of you.”

“But you keep your comm in?”, Clint asked.

“And my goggles on”, Loki said, taking them out of his dimensional pocket and slipping them on, before taking the bag with food, that Jane offered him.

“24 hours and we’ll be activating your tracker, if you don’t answer.”

“Yes, Sir”, Loki answered Clint and pulled him close. “We’ll be careful”, he told him a little quieter.

“You better”, Clint told him and ruffled both Loki’s and Sleipnir’s hair. “You protect him?”, he asked Sleipnir, who nodded eagerly, still trying to prove himself to each and every Avenger, whenever he saw them.

Loki hugged Jane and Erik again and the two shapeshifters waited until their lights had disappeared, before they set out into the wilderness.

“So, Ma”, Sleipnir started after a while, Loki’s goggles portraying the heat-signatures around them. “Why can’t you use the thing you did on Svartalfheim to find them?”

It was a valid question and Loki smiled as he saw Sleipnir’s eagerness to learn once more. “I am not incredibly low on Seiðr yet, but it requires a lot of concentration and here… There are trees everywhere.”

“Oh, yeah. Are you excited?”

“I’m worried and concerned, yes, a little excitement, but more scared what they might think of me.”

“They’ll love you.”

“And they’ll love _you_ , I hope.” Loki took Sleipnir’s hand and was glad the other gave a reassuring press back.

After another five minutes of walking quietly, Loki started humming an Æsir song, they’d sung often when going on adventures. Sleipnir smirked at him, apparently, he had heard it before. By the second verse, he was humming along, and Loki sang a bit more confident. It was a song about returning home, when their time was up, when their battles were won, and they could feel accomplished.

Sleipnir did the third verse, a bit brokenly, but confident, nonetheless. Loki felt incredibly proud of him and hugged him tightly for a moment.

“You make Mama so happy.”

“Mama makes me happy too.”

Loki chuckled and pressed a kiss on Sleipnir’s temple, before starting with another verse.

When the sun slowly got up again, tinging the forest in fog, and they went to rest, Loki texted Clint.

**Kiddo:** ‘No luck yet, everything good on your end?’

**Angel:** ‘seems fine, I don’t think it is though, seemed on edge’

**Kiddo:** ‘We’re getting a bit of downtime, maybe you can have Tony subtly check from above, if there are any weird spikes in warmth or cold, does he have satellites? Wait, I’ll check…’

**[To Tony] Lokes:** ‘Do you have satellites?’

**Tony:** ‘Do you know how late it is?’  
 **Tony:** ‘Also, of course I have. What do you take me for, a millionaire?’

**Lokes:** ‘Cool, can you _subtly_ look over the areas J.A.R.V.I.S. marked as likely locations, if you find a cold-spike?’

**Tony:** ‘And checking that it’s not you I’m finding?’

**Lokes:** ‘Correct.’

**Tony:** ‘Yeah. I have J.A.R.V.I.S. doing it, night now.’

**Lokes:** ‘Night, love you. Probably could have done it myself, if I’d thought of it.’

**Tony:** ‘Wonder why _J.A.R.V.I.S._ didn’t think of it. And yeah, buddy, I know you read my messages. Love you, Lokes.’

**[In private Tony/Lokes chat] J.A.R.V.I.S.:** ‘I have no idea, what you’re talking about, Sir.’

**[To Angel] Kiddo:** ‘He has, J.A.R.V.I.S. is checking.’

**Angel:** ‘good. take a breather, I’m making sure nobody suspects anything’

**Kiddo:** ‘You’re probably only making them more suspicious.’

**Angel:** ‘true’

Loki pulled Sleipnir close and the two curled together to get some sleep.

“Ma, will we ever find them?”, Sleipnir asked quietly.

“We will. Even if I have to give my last breath for it.”

“You’re overdramatic again.”

Loki smirked. “It’s the trickster charm.”

Sleipnir giggled into Loki’s chest. “I think the trickster charm is the best thing about you, Ma.”

“Really?”, Loki asked, a bit surprised.

“Yeah. When you’re being too serious, I get scared that something is seriously wrong. When you’re being overdramatic, I know not to worry.”

Loki smiled and placed a kiss on Sleipnir’s brow. “Good thing I’m not always serious then.”

“I love you, Ma.”

“I love you too, Son.” Softly Loki ran his hands through Sleipnir’s hair and hummed a lullaby, that quickly made the other fall asleep and Loki himself soon after.

“They are after us, Brother, I can feel it, people are looking for us, we’re making too much noise, we’re getting seen, they are noticing us.”

Loki frowned a little, when couldn’t control his body or what was said. Present dream. He hadn’t had those in a while, curious. The face moved to look down a hurt wolf.

“Chaos is in our nature”, the wolf growled. Loki wondered for a moment how he could even understand him, but then ignored the thought.

“But if we want to find Father, before Odin finds us, we have to stay low”, the person whose eyes Loki was looking through, pressed.

“He doesn’t even care.” The wolf seemed to be moping.

“He does. I know he does, she said, he does, she said, she was told that he wanted to die for us, even when you weren’t with us yet.”

The wolf, Váli, Loki now realised, limped over to Narfi, whose eyes Loki had to be looking from. They were alive. Loki sighed a little in relief.

“Does it still hurt, Brother?”

“It won’t stop, you know it won’t.”

Narfi looked at the wound, that was still in a trap, that had been cut from its chains.

“Are you hungry, Brother?”, Narfi asked him.

“It can wait, you must eat first. I might not live, but you must.”

“No, I won’t let that happen, here.” Narfi grabbed some meat from a bag, pulled it out of the plastic containment. “I know you don’t want to hunt, but…”

Váli devoured it quickly, ripping through it. “If I hunt, people will find us even sooner. Now drink.”

Narfi opened a water bottle and drank from it, his throat feeling better in an instant. Loki wanted to pull them close, tell them no harm would ever come to them. They calmed after a while and were about to fall asleep, when a horn sounded. Narfi quickly jumped to his feet, grabbing the bag, looking into the direction of the sound.

“They’re coming!”, Narfi shouted, afraid.

Loki woke with a start, hearing the same horn. Like Narfi, he stared into the direction. “Hunters. Get up, Sleip, I know where they are.”

“Five more…”

“They will kill your brothers.”

Immediately Sleipnir got onto his feet, or well hooves, he had transformed while moving. “Come on, which direction?”

Loki had to think for a moment, before mounting Sleipnir’s back and pointing into a direction, that he thought the twins must roughly be, if it was the same horn. Swiftly he sent a shimmer of his Seiðr into the direction, as Sleipnir galloped across the forest.

The wind was pushing past him so quickly, that Loki almost didn’t feel his phone vibrating in his pocket.

“J.A.R.V.I.S., who is it?”

“It’s Jane, Master Stark.”

“Relay to comm.”

It crackled for a second. “Lo?”, Jane’s voice sounded in his ear.

“The one and the same.”

“There are hunters in your forest.”

“I had _not_ realised”, Loki told her, laying on the sarcasm quite thick.

“You’re aware of them?”

“Yep, heard the horn, Narfi and Váli heard them too. I’m trying to locate them.”

“They are hunting a wolf.”

“You’re outside the forest?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. And no, they’re not hunting a wolf. They just think they are. They’re hunting a stuck shapeshifter. Where’s Clint?”

“Oh right, umm, here.”

There was another crackle in the line, before Clint told him: “In how much shit are we?”

“We’d be in much more shit, if S.H.I.E.L.D. would decide to show up. J.A.R.V.I.S. switch the view back to thermal.”

“It might not help much, while the forest is cool itself”, J.A.R.V.I.S. tried to tell him.

“Did I fucking _stutter_ , J.A.R.V.I.S.?”

“Course not.” The view switched and like Loki thought, the air around them was warmer than Sleipnir or him. It was quite confusing to look that way.

“Okay, bad news, Loki.”

“What is it, Clint?”

“Do you know Murphy’s law?”

“‘Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.’ I had to say it, didn’t I?”

“Yep.”

“Alright, J, no use being subtle, scan the forest for them.”

“Will do.”

“They have dogs with them, going after blood.”

“Shit. Do you have your watch with you?”

“Your magic’s low.”

“It might be low, but it ain’t gone.”

“Alright, I’ll get it.”

“I got a location”, J.A.R.V.I.S. said with a slight cheer in his voice and switched Loki’s view to normal, before giving them a point. It was a little more left, than Loki had estimated, and he quickly shot another shimmer of his magic in the direction, making Sleipnir change direction.

“Thanks, J.A.R.V.I.S.”

“Always a pleasure, Master Stark.”

“Inform me, if any of the hunters are getting within shooting distance.”

“Will do, Master Stark.”

Sleipnir was already sweating more, because of the growing heat and he couldn’t think that Váli would fare much better. When the twins finally got into sight, Sleipnir slowed and halted, quickly transforming back. Loki steadied him for a moment, before locking eyes with Narfi and smiling at him.

“Hey, sweetheart”, he said and looked from him to Váli. “We need to get out of here, hunters are coming.”

“Father?”, Narfi whispered and broke into tears. Loki looked to Sleipnir for a moment, but when he nodded, he rushed forward to his boy’s side, embracing him tightly.

“Found you, my boys.”

“I told you, Váli, I told you.”

Loki pressed a kiss on Narfi’s dirty cheek and then went to kneel beside Váli. “Hey”, he breathed and held out his hand for him to sniff at.

Váli was nervous, when stepping forward, but then rushed into Loki’s open arms, howling lightly. Narfi, Loki could tell, was eying Sleipnir, who was still catching his breath. After a few seconds though, he opened his bag and offered Sleipnir his water bottle, that he gladly accepted.

“Alright. Sleip, I might need your help with his wound.”

“Yes, Ma.” Sleipnir took a swallow from Narfi’s bottle and then nodded to him, while handing it back. Narfi frowned a little but let the other closer to Váli, nonetheless.

“Váli, I’ll have to get rid of the trap first, that will hurt, do you understand? Sleipnir will heal you right after. Can you hold back on your instincts to bite either of our heads off?”

He swore he heard Váli chuckle a little and Loki pressed a kiss to his furry head. “I can hold him, Father”, Narfi quickly offered, kneeling down beside Loki. Loki was grateful.

“I’m proud of you both. I’m sorry, that I didn’t know you were alive and on Earth any sooner.”

“She said, you’d find us.”

“I don’t know who you’re talking about, but we must not talk about it at the moment, time is sparse.”

“They are coming”, Sleipnir and Váli said at the same time and Loki smirked, before shrugging at Narfi.

He got up and walked to Váli’s hind leg, Sleipnir had his healing magic ready, when Loki grabbed onto the bear trap, opening and moving it away, ignoring the howl from Váli, only concentrating on Sleipnir’s magic. When the blood stopped dripping, Sleipnir looked to him.

“Barton”, Loki said into his comm, “I could need that call now.” Loki pulled his sons close and concentrated on the oncoming voice-command.

“Alright, Loki, come to Papa.”

Loki rolled his eyes a little, even though he was the only one of them to hear what Clint had said and teleported them out.

“That’s a wolf”, Clint stated, when they appeared in front of him.

“Clint, meet Váli, temporarily, for probably around 600 years, stuck shapeshifter. Correct?”, Loki asked Narfi, who just nodded.

“Ma, you’re pale.”

“Into the car then Clint, mind helping us here?”

“Got it.” Clint helped him up and his sons followed close behind them. Sleipnir got into the car quickly, grabbing a blanket and then nodded for Narfi to sit next to him, while Váli already laid down in the car. Loki swayed a little and Clint quickly caught him. “You okay?”

“Haven’t had breakfast yet.”

“We’ll get you to the Quinjet”, Jane told him, tensing a little at the sight of Váli, “and then we’ll get all of you a huge breakfast, while you cool down.”

“That will be good”, Loki agreed, watching as Sleipnir gently covered Váli and then helped Narfi buckle up.

Clint helped Loki into his own seat and buckled him up himself, before making sure, he wouldn’t catch Váli’s tail while closing the car door. Loki was exhausted as he watched his boys and he softly let his head slip onto Narfi’s shoulder, who looked at him a little worried, but then laid his arm around him.

“We missed you, Father”, Narfi whispered.

“I thought you died”, Loki answered, unable to supress his tears.

“It’s okay now, we’re here.”

“That you are”, Loki breathed and closed his eyes.

“You smell like home, Pa”, Váli said and the other three guys in the back of the car snickered a little.

“I’m glad, I still smell familiar to you, dear.”

“Sleipnir smells like you too. This vehicle though, ugh.”

That made Sleipnir and Loki laugh loudly, and Loki caught a frown of Clint in the mirror. “We can understand each other, because we all have similar Seiðr.”

“Who’s he?”, Narfi asked quietly.

“That’s Clint, he’s a very good friend of mine, and the Lady is Jane, another good friend and both very helpful in figuring out, where you two could be.”

“So, we can trust them?”

“I’d trust them with my life, but you don’t have to, I just want to keep you safe and give you a place to resettle. If you want to leave after that…”

“We’ll never leave you again, Pa”, Váli growled and Loki smiled, before slipping his hand under the blanket and scratching Váli’s fur.

“Alright then. But first, let’s get onto the oh so cold Quinjet.”

“What’s a Quinjet?”, Narfi asked.

“It’s a spaceship that can only fly in the atmosphere around Earth”, Sleipnir explained and Narfi nodded at the explanation.

“Wow”, Clint said from the front, “I never heard a plane explained that way around.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, everybody happy?


	24. Trickster Boys

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mostly Version 1, hope you like it 🙂

Loki yawned loudly when he woke, though he had no memory of falling asleep in the first place. He wasn’t in the car anymore. Loki blinked a little and didn’t get much time to realise that he was in one of the bunks on the Quinjet, before Clint knelt in front of him and patted his head.

“Hey there, Snowflake. Juice or waffles?”

“Is both an option?”, Loki asked, before stretching and yawning again, trying to cover his open mouth with the back of his hand.

“Sure.” Clint waited for Loki to get into a sitting position, before holding out his hand to help him onto his feet and leading him to the others.

The main area of the plane looked like they robbed a bakery _and_ a butchery.

“Pa!”, a young boy said, stopping for a moment from biting into what looked like at least _roasted_ meat.

“Hello, Váli. Sleipnir helped you?”

Váli nodded quickly and turned his head to where Sleipnir and Narfi were absorbed in a game of chess. “Eating with hands is much easier.”

Loki chuckled a little, before sitting down in front of him and accepting the offered bottle of juice from Clint, who disappeared to the side of the other two boys. “I thought one ate with the mouth, rather than with hands.”

“ _Pa!_ ”, Váli answered in an annoyed noise and Loki smirked.

“Getting your strength back?”

“Slowly. Sleipnir is a talker. Told us about Tony and Runa and the Avengers.”

“Well, at least I don’t have to tell you now, he probably guessed right at me not wanting to keep secrets from you.”

“Still hasn’t told us about the spell on you though.”

Of course, Váli would be able to detect it. “It’s nothing bad, I’ll tell you, once the others join us. Mind handing me the waffles?”

Váli nodded quickly and handed him a basket, where Loki quickly got out food for himself. There were even croissants filled with chocolate. “Told us we’re all half-Jötunn, because you are, and Odin never told you.”

Loki sighed, more at the chocolate on his tongue, than at the serious conversation. “Not a fun way to find out.”

“He also told us, you believed us dead for a long time.”

“You I did not. You, I thought I somehow could still save. Thought you died around five years back.”

“He killed ‘me’ a few days after Narfi.”

Loki looked at him in surprise. “What a bastard, couldn’t even tell me the truth there.”

“Frigga said you tried to kill yourself.”

“She saw to you?”

“Came by a lot in the beginning, then a lot less.”

“And I bet she’s the one who got you two out in the first place.”

“Yes. Found old people that were on the brink of death and willing to die instead of a youngster. We didn’t know. I thought I had really killed… And then she switched me out too. Took me a while to trust Narfi or her.”

“And yet, I find you two again, connected by the hip.”

“Please.” Váli rolled his eyes. “Hanging around with that idiot will only hold me down.”

Loki smirked and bit into the next pastry, only flinching slightly, when Sleipnir wrapped his arms around him from behind.

“Eat as much as you can, Ma, it will do you good.”

“Am I that pale?”

“Well, you _are_ blue”, Narfi said from the side, “One _could_ say that is worse.”

Loki stuck out his tongue at him and got a stuck-out tongue back.

“Oh god, now there’s four of you”, Clint said, as in realisation and he sat down with an opened soda.

“And that is bad why? I have been an excellent roommate, if I recall.”

“Yeah, you’re probably planning something big. Last summer you and Harley did the whole thing with the theme songs…”

“We must outdo ourselves then”, Loki told him, grinning and letting his tongue run over his teeth, “After all, what is a trickster without tricks?”

“Worse than a sorcerer without Seiðr”, Váli answered and nodded to him.

“Oh yes. To the reason why there’s a spell on my body. It’s to hide that I’m pregnant. Only those in the know can see it. That’s why my Seiðr is lower than usual. Chocolate, I find, is a great replenishment.”

Narfi and Váli stared at him in awe and then Narfi knelt in front of him, touching his belly carefully. “Wow”, he whispered. “This, I had not known there was a spell to hide with such conditions.”

“When are you due?”, Váli asked, equally interested.

“November. So, long way to go.”

“But you’re already so full”, Narfi commented.

“We’re having twins.”

“Twins?”, Narfi and Váli asked at the same time, before looking at each other in delight, as if connected and saying: “We hope they’re girls.”

Loki chuckled a little and puller Narfi up into his arm, before waving over Váli into their hug, pointedly ignoring the “Aww” from Clint.

“So, when will we depart?”, Loki asked Clint, when they let go of each other again, leaning back into the steadying hand of Sleipnir.

“I’m working around with S.H.I.E.L.D. at the moment, I’m thinking about sundown.”

“And it’s?”

“A little in the afternoon”, Sleipnir told Loki and urged him to sit again. “What can I get you?”

Loki looked at his half-empty bottle and the pastry-basket. “I’m good, are you okay?”

“Yeah, Ma, everything’s fine.” Sleipnir sat down next to him and laid his head against Loki’s shoulder. “I want to go home, before someone can take them away again.”

“Hey”, Narfi protested, grabbing a sandwich, “We’re sturdy, we survived for half a year on our own out there, before you two showed up.”

“Politics are very complicated”, Loki told him, “If I do one wrong step, they want me hanged. And if they hear of my two rogue twin sons, they… I don’t even know what they’ll do. So, the sooner we’re back at the mansion, out of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s and the Council’s needy grasp, the better.”

“How could a broken organisation ever rule over you, Pa?”, Váli asked.

“Simple. I wish to stay on Earth, and I wish to move freely. I could do this anyway, but I owe this world a great debt. Repaying that debt till it’s at least partially dealt with is very important for me, as I do not wish to hide my face to live here.”

“So, we’re never going back to Asgard?”, Narfi asked, a bit surprised.

“Do you _want_ to? We’re certainly not going to be anywhere near Odin, that’s for sure.”

Narfi and Váli nodded slowly. “So, you’re going to protect us?”, Váli asked.

“With my life. Like I should have done for years now. I know my life is crazy and all over the place, but I will protect you to the best of my abilities and I hope you’ll let me be a father to you once more. I don’t want a do-over, I just wish to have a good relationship.”

Loki was tired again, when they departed again a few hours later, finally having decided to switch into female again, the form felt more natural at the moment. Váli was watching her carefully, as Loki pressed her back hard against the wall, as she laid down.

“A lot of people hurt you”, he stated. He didn’t ask, no, it was like he knew it for a fact.

“Yes.”

“You’re very… antsy”, he said, after thinking about the word for a while.

“It’s hard to get over. I know I should be safe, but… It’s like I know this should be real, but I still wake up with the thought that you two are still dead and someone’s playing with my mind.”

“You think we’re not here?”

“It’s too much of a fairy tale for my life. I don’t get good things. Even having someone like Tony, the team, all those I still expect to disappear, to crumple in front of my face. I still expect to wake up in a dark cold cell, realising this was all just a dream, that I never escaped and never got to have the freedom I wished for.”

“At what times do you think it’s real?”

“When stuff doesn’t go my way. I know it’s real, when I get hurt or friends get hurt or not everything goes according to plan. I know I’m alive, when it’s all just chaos.”

Váli chuckled for a moment. “That’s why they call you the God of Chaos. You thrive in it.”

“I know this might sound odd, but I like the taste of my blood on my lips, not because I’m some kind of blood-fanatic, but because I know that I am alive, when I can taste it. Everything else tastes stale in comparison. Only chocolate kind of gets me to the point where I truly can taste _life_.”

Váli looked to the ground and then came to lay near Loki on the ground. “We’re here, Pa. And we’ll make your life a lot more exciting, so that you won’t need that.”

“It’ll be different, I know. Once these two start moving, I’ll feel it as well.” Loki laid her hand on top of her belly and smiled at Váli. Slowly the other reached out and Loki let him put his hand under her own.

“You really love him a lot, don’t you?”

“Very much. I hope you two will like him as well.”

“I think we might. Does he like your Seiðr?”

“He absolutely loves it.”

“So, he’ll like ours as well?”

“Depends on what you’ll use it for, but I’m sure he’d be fascinated to see what you want to specialise in.”

“You’re an allrounder, right?”

Loki chuckled a little. “I wouldn’t call it that. I am first and foremost a shapeshifter, in my mind at least, but I love toying with a lot of other things. Though I have not yet mastered any of them and mastering them would make me an even bigger threat to others. They all think I have nothing more to learn, but I still do, I dabble in most areas of sorcery, but I am far from being a master.”

“I think I’d be a good shapeshifter.”

“Because you were a wolf for most of your life, Váli?”, Loki asked, raising an eyebrow.

Váli shrugged. “I got the qualifications.”

Loki chuckled. “When you get good at controlling your instincts, so much that you can eat a meal without meat and not throw up, you can talk to me again.”

Váli smiled a little, before it faded. “We missed you. A lot.”

“Where were you anyway?”

“On Niflheim. In Hel.” Loki frowned a little and Váli pressed his hand. “We spent a lot of time with Ma in the beginning, but she told us, we shouldn’t get hung up on the dead.”

“Sounds like her. How is that even possible? To visit, but not to be there, trapped?”

Váli shrugged. “We just weren’t. Frigga gave us these charms. She said, they’d make sure Hel wouldn’t be able to grasp onto our souls, while we were still in our bodies.”

“I’m just glad it worked, and that you’re both here and relatively fine.”

“The lady told us; you were trying to save the realms.”

“Which lady?”

“She’s a prisoner there, not dead, but unable to leave the place. She said, you were making sure the realms were closed again to hide a secret within them. She’s been watching you a lot, Pa.”

“So, I got a stalker, down in Hel.”

“You look a lot like her. Black hair, green eyes, fair skin, well at least in this form. But she’s nice, she taught us the use of Seiðr, even though she couldn’t use her own down there anymore.”

“She even taught you?”

Váli nodded. “I don’t know much, and she never figured out how to explain how I could shed the shape, but I’m pretty glad that she at least tried.”

“She sounds like a caring person then.”

“She didn’t like Odin either and said something about being glad she’d never have to see his face again.”

“A life sentence then.”

“I don’t think it’s her life though”, Váli whispered.

Loki frowned. “Do we have to worry about or for her?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Alright.”

“And you couldn’t do anything at the moment either way.”

“Well, yes, you might be correct”, Loki answered, and they smiled at each other again.

“Lokes.” Tony had a bright smile on his face, as he came to the Quinjet, carrying Runa at his side.

Loki smiled fondly at the two and then walked to them, hugging them closely and pressing a kiss on both their cheeks. “I got them”, she whispered.

“I heard, Sleipnir called when you got to the Quinjet.” Tony laid his free arm around Loki’s waist and then sidestepped her. “You two must be Váli and Narfi, nice to meet you.”

Váli was the first to step close and sniffed a little. “You smell like Pa, I like you”, he decided, before pointing at Runa. “Can I hold her?”

Tony genuinely stuttered at that. “U-Umm, yeah, sure, Runa, you fine with that?”

“Una!”, the little one said loudly and pointed at herself.

“Yeah, you’re Runa and this is…”

“Váli”, Loki’s son offered and pointed at himself.

“Una, Ali. Ama, Apa, Epe.” Runa pointed to herself, then Váli, Loki, Tony and lastly Sleipnir. Then she frowned at Narfi.

“Narfi”, the other told her and stepped closer.

“Una, Ali, Ama, Apa, Epe, Afi.”

The twins grinned and Váli opened his arms, making Runa do the same and Tony handed her over without protest, watching the twin boys walk towards the house, while talking with Runa, Sleipnir quickly at their heels, making sure they were doing the nothing wrong.

“I’m just a _little_ worried for her”, Tony told Loki, but his squeaky voice told her otherwise.

“They recognise similar Seiðr. I was worried the introduction to Sleipnir would go badly, but they quickly recognised him as family.”

Tony sighed a little. “Okay, so she wouldn’t be like that with strangers?”

“No. I don’t believe so. And what was that about smell?”

“Váli was a wolf for most of his life, Sleipnir helped him turn back, when we were in London. He has a heightened smell.”

“Instincts. He recognises me as… pack?”

“Yep. I missed you.”

“Missed you too”, Tony whispered against Loki’s lips.

Loki and her children only stayed till it was evening again, then they departed back to cabin, where a surprised and swiftly armed James greeted them.

“Amy!”, Runa shouted in glee and then pointed to Narfi and Váli. “Afi, Ali.”

“Narfi”, the first introduced himself properly, before pointing to Váli, that was sniffing James. “This is my misbehaved twin brother Váli. He’ll hopefully get over the sniffing and eating raw meat soon, he was a wolf for six centuries.”

“Oh”, James said, putting his weapon away and then shaking Narfi’s outstretched hand. “I’m James Barnes. Runa _tries_ calling me Jamie though… I hope.”

Narfi chuckled and Váli straightened. “You smell like Pa.”

“Well, we’ve been living together for a bit, she’s like a younger sibling to me.”

“Alright, Uncle James.”

Váli walked into the cabin, leaving a flabbergasted James behind and Sleipnir patted his shoulder for a moment.

“You’ll get over it, Uncle Jamie”, Sleipnir said and stuck his tongue out at him, giggling, as he followed Váli into the house.

“There’s four of you”, James told Loki, who chuckled happily.

“That’s what Uncle Clint said”, Narfi told him and joined his siblings inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I kinda miss Loki hanging out with Clint 😅  
> How do you like the twins so far?


	25. Samuel Thomas Wilson

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Version 1. James Buchanan Barnes (JBB, chapter 22) and Samuel Thomas Wilson (STW, chapter 25) used to be back to back, the beginning now was still part of JBB, while the whole "dead" twins stuff (along with the end part of STW) came after that... 😅

James felt like crap, as he was putting things into the box that Tony had given him. They had gotten back this morning, and even though Loki had offered to let him stay with them at the mansion for the following week, James had opted out, saying he needed a room at the tower anyway, and maybe a bit of a time away from the Tricksters.

Neatly, making sure that he only needed one box, James put the last of his things away. He didn’t have much more than his clothes anyway and those were still in his duffle bag that he already brought away. When he went to the elevator with the box under his arm, Sam walked out towards him and frowned, his eye a bit darkened. James raised an eyebrow.

“Who gave ya that?”

“Darcy. Told her you were home now.”

James chuckled. “Good luck with your new _gal_.”

“And where do you think you’re going? You just came back.”

“ _I_ am going to my new living arrangements, as I’m obviously not welcome here anymore. Have fun with living on your own. Tony thought about putting you on a floor with Steve, but I was the one moving out, so he couldn’t do that.”

“Who are you staying with now?”, Sam said a bit quieter.

“For the moment with Thor. Tony’s working on getting me my own floor, because nobody can move in with Bruce, apparently and I’m not the biggest fan of Thor. And moving in with Darcy would only result into more looks by you or your best bud.” James put down the door in front of the elevator and pressed the button. “Be happy, you won’t have to deal with this asshole anymore.”

“I’m sorry”, Sam answered.

“What?”

“I said, I’m sorry, James. I thought maybe you liked her, okay, maybe you didn’t want to admit your feelings.”

“And then you went to her.”

“Yeah.”

“And she told you _exactly_ like I did.”

“Yeah.”

“You’re an idiot, Wilson.”

“Why? You and her, you looked good together, seemed to like each other.”

“But you know what you _don’t_ know?”, James asked and stepped closer to the other, before pushing the box into the elevator that had opened behind him. “I have this huge crush on this man, that doesn’t even _think_ that I only see him. And I know he wouldn’t want to do _that_ , and I know I wouldn’t want to hurt him. So, I rather get into bed with Darcy or Nat and we help each other out and I can test how rough is too rough, how much I have to restrain myself to not hurt them, because I would never, ever want to hurt _him_.” He whispered the last few words and then stepped away, into the elevator, his heart beating higher and he pressed the floor-number. “You know, he’s one of the reasons, I wanted to take the arm off too”, he told Sam and smiled a little at him.

James didn’t like living with Thor. Thor never heard of doors or the use of closing them. He showered with his door wide open and walked into James’ room as if it was his own. James was already on his last nerve and almost went back to Sam, in the end, he grabbed his things and decided to move onto Rhodey’s couch, who said, he could stay there for a few days, he even offered his own bed, telling him, that he could stay at the mansion, but James didn’t want to feel like he kicked his namesake out.

Rhodey’s couch wasn’t all too comfortable, and James was groaning, the next time he walked onto the common floor, his whole back hurting. Of course, he _had_ to find Steve at the coffee machine. For a moment he wanted to walk out again, but then he slumped down at the table.

“Mind making me one too, Steve?”

“Black?”, the other asked, excited.

“Yeah.” James let his head hit the table and he groaned again.

“Thor such a bad bed-mate?”, Steve asked and put down a box of cookies, probably stolen from Loki, in front of James.

“I’m sleeping on Rhodey’s couch. It’s too short.”

Steve laughed a little and James smiled at that laugh. It reminded him of home and tears pricked at his eyes. He was different. Steve was different. Grunting, he grabbed a cookie and shoved it into his mouth.

“I hear you and Sam had a falling out.”

“Yeah.”

“Do I _want_ to know?”

James looked up and took the coffee from Steve, quickly noting it was the one he had originally made for himself. “Why do all friends have falling outs?”

Steve raised an eyebrow at him. “We never had.”

“Women. It’s always about women.”

“You both like the same dame?”

James rolled his eyes. “It ain’t like that, punk. I had arrangements with ‘em and he thought it was more than that.” He put the coffee-cup to his lips and cursed a little, in Russian, he noted a second later, before putting it down. “Sorry. Know you don’t like ta hear it.”

“I’m getting used to it. Especially with Nat around. So how was it about them?”

“He thought I’d look good next to them. And when I told him it was just an arrangement between friends, he thought to say we had a similar arrangement, back before everything.”

Steve bellowed with laughter. “We? Yeah, guess that’s how the whole world wants to see it. We’re not even into guys.”

“Well”, James said, blushing a little, “ _You’re_ not.”

Steve paled and stared at him. “Really? Uhm, good for you. Since when?”

“Ever since we were little”, James said and sighed, “Doesn’t matter though.”

“And you never told me?”

“Wasn’t like it would have led to anything. And with the war…”

“Was there a guy you…”

James chuckled. “Yeah, there was. And there is one now. But he… he doesn’t even realise he’s… he’s my world.”

Steve blushed and then smiled. “Are you going to tell him?”

“Don’t know if I should.”

“Is he good for you?”

James smiled fondly and his heart grew warm. “He’s the absolute best. How ‘bout you, anyone on your mind?”

Steve shook his head. “Nah, I get tons of requests though. Tony told me not to take the people up on it. Would be like back then, but back then…”

“Is a whole different story and you only did it with the showgirls and only safe.”

“Arrangements, like you have.”

“Had. I ain’t doing it anymore.”

“Don’t want _him_ to think you’re into women?”

“I’m pretty sure, that shouting off the rooftop isn’t good and off of _this_ roof it ain’t hearable.”

“So…”

“What?”

“Did you ever like gals?”

James chuckled. “Like ‘em both. I just never been in love with one. Always was in love with a man at the time. And as the Winter Soldier… I don’t know… I didn’t have a personality; was like I was a robot.”

“And without a personality, you can’t pick up a guy?”

“I’m 90 percent sure, the Winter Soldier didn’t flirt.”

Steve smirked and sat down with his own coffee. “And you flirted back then?”

James shook his head. “Too risky.”

“Now?”

“Haven’t tried.”

“How’d you meet him anyway? You’re always with the team.” James sipped on his coffee and raised his eyebrows at Steve. Steve almost choked on his drink and coughed. “It’s someone on the team?”

“Yeah.”

“That’s… at least they are good people then… Who?”

“I ain’t telling you, before I tell him.”

“Come on, it ain’t a taken person, right?”

“As far as I know, he’s still single.”

“And into men?”

“Open to it.”

“Good then. Don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Don’t worry about it, breaking my heart is always up to me.”

“Who’d you love back then though?”

“A guy who probably wasn’t into guys.”

“Come on, they’re all dead, you can tell me.”

“Well, he’s dead alright”, James said and gulped down the last of his coffee. “There was this scrawny kid I liked. Got himself into so many fights, he should’ve died, before the war even arrived.” James got up and put his cup into the sink. “See you around, Steve”, he told the frozen man, before walking away.

“You told Steve.”

“Calm your horses, Wilson, barging in on an ex-assassin in the midst of weapons-training ain’t your smartest manoeuvre. Even if he only has one arm.”

“You fucking asshole told Steve.”

James raised his eyebrow at Sam, who seemed to be smiling brightly. “Yeah, I did, got a problem with that?”

“I’m proud of you.”

“Which part? Telling him I like men, or telling him he’s dead to me?”

Sam frowned and James put the gun away, before rolling his shoulder. It still didn’t feel right, felt more wrong than having the arm from HYDRA. But he knew better than to complain when Tony was already working on a new arm.

“He’s dead to you?”

“Well, the scrawny kid is. Steve… He ain’t the Steve I grew up with. Don’t worry your pretty brain about it, I can see Captain America is still alive and that he goes by Steve in his free time, but Steve and Cap are, were two totally different people. Like Bucky and the Winter Soldier are, you get that?”

“It’s different.”

“Yeah right, one signed up for the serum, the other didn’t.” James rubbed at his shoulder and Sam’s eyes locked onto it.

“Everything alright?”

“Just feels different. Back’s hurting too, but that’s because of Rhodey’s couch.”

“Need a massage?”

“You offering, Wilson?”

“Only if you stop calling me Wilson.”

“Hmm…” James thought for a moment. “What was it, Thomas?” Sam hit him softly into the side and James snickered. “Alright, sweetheart, I’ll call you Sam again.”

Sam blushed. “You probably shouldn’t call me sweetheart; your guy probably won’t like that.”

“Well, one, he ain’t mine yet, two, he doesn’t have to find out, Sam. All up to you, if you’ll tell him.”

“I know him?”

“Steve didn’t tell you _that_ part of the story? And I thought you two were sharing like teenage girls.”

“Who is it?”

“Wouldn’t _you_ like to know?”

“I’ll go figure it out.”

“Yeah, you can try.”

“But first, you’re getting a massage by yours truly. And your bed isn’t gone yet, so if you wanna…”

“Are you offering more than a massage to get me back?”, James asked, cocking an eyebrow at the other.

“Well, you’ll get first dibs after missions on the shower.”

“We have one shower per apartment on the floor.”

“I’ll make you breakfast for a week.”

“That sounds more like it.”

Sam grinned and James shoved him lightly towards the elevator. “Massage first and then you can help me pick up my box from Rhodey’s floor.”

“Take off your shirt.”

James smirked at Sam and waggled his eyebrows at him, before failing successfully at taking off his shirt in one smooth movement. “You know Bruce said the same thing to me, the first time we met. I should see it as a crime that you never asked before.”

“Are you always such a smooth-talker?”

“Depends. Is it working?”

“No. You’re too much off a dork”, Sam answered and grinned at him, before pointing to the chair.

“Damn, being a dork now”, James mumbled and sat down on the chair, leaning forward against the backrest.

“You gotta work on that flirting, if you wanna win him over.”

“Do I?”

“Yeah, but my usual pick-up-line is ‘Hey, I’m Sam and I work for the V.A., wanna come?’.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re smoother than that, Sam. More like ‘Hey, want me to avenge you?’.”

Sam laughed. “That’s actually better.”

“But dating outside the circle is probably shit. People would most likely date you for the… super-hero-y stuff.”

“Or for a different Avenger. To climb the ladder.” Sam had smoothed his hands with something and James bit back a moan as his hands stroked over his back. Sam could feel the shudder going through James’ body though. “You can make sounds, James, I don’t judge.”

“Not about you judging. More about…”

“Won’t tell him either.”

James let his forehead lay on his arm, while he stared downward, already feeling the arousal creeping on. He sighed a little. “Sam?”

“Yeah?”

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable.”

“You’re not”, Sam answered, taking extra care of James’ shoulder, before uncurling the knots in his back.

“I don’t _ever_ want to make you uncomfortable.”

“What brought this on?”

“Maybe it’s best, that I get my own floor.”

“I’m not going to throw you out, James.”

“Really? Because I think you might.”

“James, look at me.”

James looked up and into Sam’s eyes, those beautiful caring eyes, a blush struck him again. “Y-Yes?”, he breathed.

“I’m not going to throw you out. We’re friends.”

James gaze easily fell to Sam’s lips while he spoke and he knew he licked his own lips, before he spoke again: “Yeah, and you’re a great friend, Sam.”

“Except when I think you’re dating Darcy.”

“ _Huge_ miscalculation on your part”, James answered with a smirk.

“Do I know him?”

“He’s an Avenger”, James answered with a smile, before looking away, “I wouldn’t know anyone else anyway.”

“Well, there are the mutants.”

James shrugged. “Well, consider the search down to only a handful of people. He also isn’t taken, as far as I can tell, that’s what Steve wanted to know.”

“Meaning…” Sam leaned back against the table he was standing in front of. “Steve, Thor, Bruce, Clint or Rhodey.”

James snickered. “And he is not completely straight, as far as I know.”

“Well, that throws out Steve and Bruce. Who knows what Thor’s stance is… Or the others for that matter.” Sam groaned and got back around James. “You won’t tell me, will you?”

“He’s pretty oblivious.”

“That throws out Rhodey, he’s sharp as hell.”

“And he’s human.”

“Clint? Really?”

“And he cares a lot and never really realises I talk about him. And my heart beats louder when he sits next to me, when he looks at me, when he touches me. Nobody ever really touches me.”

“I do.”

“Like I said, he’s pretty oblivious. And he never thinks it could be him.”

“Clint wanted to put magnets on your arm.”

“I’m well aware.”

“How can you love him?”

“I don’t love Clint, you idiot.” James stood up and stepped forward towards Sam. “Does this really look like I love Clint? Because damn, Sam, you’re more oblivious than I thought.” He gently lifted Sam’s chin. “Sweetheart, I can barely get enough of you, when you don’t think I’m looking at you, you seriously don’t think I _only_ see you?”

Sam paled and James let his head fall. He didn’t like him like that. James picked his shirt up and put it over his head, leaving without another word.

James was laying on Rhodey’s couch, when the door was rudely thrown open and he fell instinctively behind the sofa. Damn was he glad, Rhodey was out at the time. He peeked above it and cursed: “What the hell, Wilson, wanna give a man a fucking heart-attack, I’m not the youngest, you know?!”

“You smug bastard, James.”

“What?”

Sam shoved him backwards and James’ heart rate was quickly picking up, as he backed away against the window. “You smug bastard. You tell me that shit out of the fucking blue.”

“You would have noticed if you weren’t so fucking oblivious.”

“Where’s your box?”

James stared at him and then grabbed Sam, pulling him close, locking their eyes, before letting his eyes fall to the other’s lips. “Tell me no”, he breathed.

“I won’t”, Sam whispered, and James flushed, before letting Sam go.

“I-I… My box… Right.”

“James?”

James looked at Sam with an inclined head. “G-Guess I’m no smooth-talker.”

“You took your arm off, to make sure you wouldn’t hurt me with it.”

“Y-Yeah.”

“And you slept with Darcy and Nat, to make sure you’d never go too rough with me.”

James looked to the ground and then went away to get his box.

“You like it when I touch you. You’re happier when I do.”

“C-Can you stop? My crush is already ri-ridiculous enough.”

“You’re cute when you get shy.”

James grabbed the box and frowned when Sam grabbed it from him. “Hey. I’m not a helpless damsel.”

“I know, but I like helping you.”

James smiled shyly at him. “Sam?”

“Yeah?”, the other asked, looking up at him.

“Would you want to go on a date? Watch a movie or something? Just us two, even if it’s on our floor?”

Sam blushed. “Yeah, I’d love to. Combined with the fact I have to make you breakfast for a week one could say, we’re almost going steady.”

“You don’t, by the way, I would have come back, if you’d just asked, can’t resist your pretty face.”

“Pretty?”

“Handsome?”

“Better”, Sam decided and nodded towards the door.

“Very handsome. Irresistible.”

“Careful with the big words, soldier.”

James raised his eyebrow and then grinned at him. “Lean body, perky butt.”

“Oh, you’re staring at my butt?”

“Well, It’s very nice. And I’m just staring, I ain’t feeling you up… yet…”

Sam laughed loudly and James rushed in front of him to get the elevator.

“After you, gentleman”, James told Sam, pretending to hold open the door and Sam snickered.

“You’re ridiculous.”

“Only for you…” James blushed again and couldn’t contain his ever-present smile. “Th-Thanks for getting me, by the way, I probably would have buried myself under a thousand pillows out of embarrassment.”

“On Rhodey’s floor, where there are almost no pillows?”

“I would have snuck down to Loki’s floor and stolen his.”

“We should make a pillow castle”, Sam breathed with excitement. James stared at him and he felt his heart almost burst out of his chest.

“You mean pillow _fort_ , right?”

“No, I mean, we could build a huge fucking pillow castle on our floor, or just throw all the stuff out of one room and throw all the pillows in there.”

“I wanna kiss you so badly right now”, James whispered, as he shook his head at Sam’s ridiculousness.

“Then do it.”

James shook his head. “I’m gonna wait for _you_ to do it.”

“Oh really, while I’m holding your freaking box and can’t climb you.”

James smirked and looked up at the ping and waited for the door to open. “Once you put the box down…”

Sam ran around him to his room and quickly put his box away, before stalking back to him. James’ shivered a little as Sam laid his one hand on the back James’ neck and softly pulled him down. He gave over and softly laid his lips against the man’s.

“Never, ever leave again”, Sam whispered, and James couldn’t do more than nod, before closing his eyes and pressing his lips to Sam’s again.

James knew Sam was pulling him somewhere, but he was too occupied to care to look, as his lone hand ran up Sam’s spine and drove a soft moan from him, as he pressed Sam closer to him. When he was suddenly pushed on something soft, he opened his eyes in shock, a little scared and Sam quickly noticed.

“I’m not gonna force you to…”

“Just go slow”, James breathed and pushed his slippers off, before moving back on his bed.

Sam quickly did the same and straddled him. For a moment he just stared, before running his hand over James’ built body. With a smirk, James pulled his shirt off, getting better and better with time.

“You are…”, Sam whispered, and James took his hand and placed it over his heart.

“You’re allowed to touch.”

“Because you like it when I touch you?”

“I love it, when you touch me. You drive me insane, Sam.”

“How insane?”

“So insane, that I had to train to hold myself back, even though training with someone else might have no use at all, because I might still go too rough on you.”

“You’ll be gentle.”

“And I’ll bottom”, James answered, flushing a moment later. “I-I mean… If you let me, if that’s not your normal… It would probably be better, because of the super soldier serum, so I can…”

Sam laughed and quickly pressed a kiss to James’ jaw. “If you want to, you can, I don’t know what position I am in, because I’ve never been with a man before.”

“Me neither”, James answered, his head bright red.

“So, we’re going to be each other’s firsts then.”

James smiled and then softly ran his hand up Sam’s side, to get to his neck and slowly pull him down for a long kiss.

“James is into Sam”, Tony said, as he looked up from his tablet.

Loki sipped on her ice-cold drink and nodded. “Yup.”

“I don’t think he needs a new floor after all”, Tony told her and showed Loki the StarkPad. Loki grinned at the two in an intimate embrace.

“How’d you get that anyway?”

“J has an alert whenever you or I get mentioned.”

“Who got mentioned?”

“You. Something about stealing your pillows to build a pillow castle.”

“Send them a message, asking if they want the freed floor to build their pillow castle and if they need special pillows for that, because I ain’t giving up mine.”

“Alright, done.”

“And tell them the pillow-castle is a sex-free zone.” Tony laughed and sent that as well. Loki got up and pulled the cake out of the oven. “Guess I know now, why I made a cake.”

“Oh, come on, I thought that was for all of us.”

“Not anymore. J.A.R.V.I.S. hitch me a ride to Wilson’s and Barnes’ floor, from my floor at the tower.” Loki put the cake on a plate and then teleported away, before she walked towards the opening elevator. When she knocked on the door of the door, she had a ridiculous smile on her face.

“L-Loki”, James asked surprised and Sam was right behind him. Loki handed the two-handed man the cake.

“Congratulations.” Loki winked to James who blushed beautifully. “Bye.” She turned and walked away.

“W-Wait, Loki”, James stopped her, and Loki could barely turn around, before he was pulled into a hug. “So, you’re okay with this?”

“If you’re happy, James, I’m happy for you.”

“Thank you, Sister.”

Loki pointed at the both of them. “If you hurt him, both of you, I’m going to freeze you, just a little bit.” They laughed lightly and blushed. “Also, the pillow castle question is a serious one. I mean, _I_ have a fucking arcade on my floor.”

“What pillow…”, Sam asked and pulled out his phone and paling a little, “O-Okay?”

“Don’t worry, there are no cameras in bed- and bathrooms.” James paled as well. “So, tip for the both of you, don’t mention Tony, me or the kids, before going to do anything you don’t want us to know. Or I might show up here next time with a box of condoms and lube instead of cake.”

They blushed and Loki grinned at them, before walking off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It had to happen 😅


	26. Don’t Get on the Tricksters Bad Side

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harley is back!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *twirls* Version 1

Harley coming to town was less eventful than the year before. It was only a week until the Stark Wedding two-point-oh, and apparently Loki had only arrived a few days earlier with his, correction, her children in tow, J.A.R.V.I.S. had informed Harley on his way over.

“Hey, Dad, Tony, Runa”, he said, but then his frown began, “Sleipnir, other two boys I don’t recognise.”

“Hey Junior.”

“Did you adopt more kids or am I the only one that recognises that the family basically doubled in the past year?”, Harley stage-whispered to Loki.

“I did not _adopt_ anyone. They are all my flesh and blood, surely you can _see_ that.”

“The resemblance is uncanny”, Harley answered, giving the three boys a hard once-over.

“You did not tell us we had another brother”, Narfi said aloud, while Váli sniffed Harley, making the other squirm and back away.

“He is not out brother”, Váli decided, “He has no Seiðr and he is not Pa’s son either.”

“Hey, I was here first”, Harley protested.

“No, you weren’t”, Váli answered. “We were her first children, so we were here first.”

“I was _here_ first, at the mansion, dumbass. Lookin’ forward to a great summer, dumb and dumber.”

“Harls”, Tony said and stopped Harley from moving past them into the house.

Harley rolled his eyes and turned to the boys. “Sorry if I _offended_ anyone, I’m Harley, Trickster Junior or Junior Mechanic, whatever you want to call me and I’ll be bringing my stuff to my room, before my back seriously starts to hurt, nice to meet you all, I hope we can have a lot of fun together. Just don’t sniff me and tell me to shower if I’m a little dirty alright?”

“Your natural aura smells wonderful”, Váli told him and that got a raised eyebrow not only by Harley, but Sleipnir and Narfi as well. “What? He might not be Pa’s, but he has a similar aura. It’s comfortable, I won’t have to avoid him, as long as he doesn’t douse himself in the weird flowery stuff or the chemicals the Mortals all seem to use.”

“Was that a… compliment?”, Harley asked.

“I was just stating facts.”

“You may call me a nickname of your choosing”, Harley told him and held out his hand, “What’s your name anyway?”

“Váli”, the twin said excited and shook Harley’s hand. “What is a nickname?”

“Mechanic?” Harley looked to Tony, while still holding Váli’s hand.

“Yeah?”

“They’ve been here for what?”

“A week, but away with Loki.”

“A week.” Harley nodded “And you haven’t taught them what _nicknames_ are yet?”

“There was a lot of other stuff”, Tony excused himself.

“What, like sprouting another magic tree?” Tony shrugged. “Really, another one?”

“It is a competition”, Váli told Harley, before looking down at their connected hands.

“Oh, right.” Harley slipped his hand out of the other’s. “Cool, competitive planting. Mine would die right away, don’t ever hand me a pet, I’d freak out and run.”

“What about children?” Sleipnir pointed to Runa.

“Una!”, the girl shouted and then started to point around. “Ama, Apa, Epe, Afi, Ali, Ali…” She frowned. “Ali, Ali”, she repeated, pointing to Harley and Váli.

Harley and Váli looked at each other, before chuckling. “Hey, Runa?”, Harley asked Runa and her head perked up. “I’m Junior, okay?”

“Uno.” She clapped her hands at the resolved issue.

Harley had promised himself, that they’d prank the Avengers again this year. Now, with Loki pregnant, he couldn’t overdo it. Or well, that’s what he thought, before he’d gotten to New York and realised he might not need Loki’s help at all.

“Boys”, Harley said in the smoothest voice he could fathom, as he came into the room, where they were playing with Runa, while Tony and Loki were probably somewhere doing adult stuff, like planning a wedding.

Váli cocked his eyebrow at him and he already liked him the most out of all three. Narfi was the most prince-like and sometimes Sleipnir was like an overbearing brother, but Váli and he seemingly were on the same wavelength.

“What is it, One?”, Váli asked, which had become his nickname after Runa had called him ‘Uno’, Spanish for the numeral one.

“I was wonderin’ if you wanted to do a prank-war with me?”

“Prank- _war_?”, Sleipnir asked, already moving into a protective stance in front of Runa. At least that was nice.

“I want to prank the Avengers, I did it last year with Loki. There will be no actual physically hurtful stuff involved, don’t worry, Sleip.”

“Good”, Sleipnir decided.

“So, tricks?”, Váli asked

“More like mildly annoy them”, Harley clarified.

“What do you wish to do?”, Narfi requested to know, and yes, it sounded exactly so high-strung.

“Well, Wilson and Barnes were offered to make a pillow castle on an emptied floor, J.A.R.V.I.S. please show them some pictures of pillow castles.”

“I believe you mean pillow _forts_.”

“Yeah, yeah, just show them.”

A bunch of pictures flowed in front of the guys and Runa was immediately grabbing and playing around with the ones she got her hands on.

“You want us to build this?”, Váli asked with a frown.

“On a much bigger scale. Like I said, there’s a whole free floor. I want to make the whole floor one huge pillow fort. But that’s just the first step, cause you darlin’s might be wonderin’, there’s no trick in there. Pillow forts are fun and enjoyable. I wanna create a list of rules the Avengers have to do, things they can’t do in the tower, at least for the summer.”

“And if they don’t abide by your rules?”, Narfi asked.

“By _our_ rules, you’re all allowed to help. If they don’t abide by them, they get thrown into the pillow fort and can’t leave for a certain amount of time.”

“What of the missions?”, Sleipnir wondered.

“They get emergency leave, but as soon as they’re done with their shower and clothed, they get to sit out the last of their time.”

“Being in this… jail… would seem rather enjoyable, I believe some would try to get thrown in there deliberately”, Narfi told him.

“For that we will make single cells. And it’s kinda supposed to be enjoyable, we don’t wanna punish them. I got a short list of rules already, J.A.R.V.I.S., would you mind?”

J.A.R.V.I.S. cleared his imaginary throat and started: “Rule number one: No cursing around anyone under 16, even if it’s just the mindset 16 and the person knows they are in that mindset and in the room. Rule number two: No working for over 48 hours. Rule number three: No lying about pain, physical or mental. Rule number four: No lying about Avengers emergencies. Rule number five: No wearing of Avengers uniforms outside of missions and shortly before and after. Doctor Banner is exempt from this rule, as the Hulk does not qualify as a uniform.”

It was quite enjoyable, working with Loki’s sons. They had a lot of ideas, especially for the pillow fort. In the end, they only left the two bathrooms on the floor without pillows and somehow managed to convince Tony, probably with Loki’s help, to install bars in the middle of the room’s height in the main rooms. With that they actually created a two-level fort. There were also a lot of fairy lights involved, which made the rooms look amazing, even from the outside. Harley loved it and he was sure, that the boys loved it too.

They also promptly fell asleep in the pillow fort, Harley somehow ending up between Váli and Narfi, the former especially liking cuddling, apparently it was a side-effect of being a freaking wolf for around six centuries. Harley was woken with a tickle to his socked feet. He squirmed at first and then let out a small growl, before eventually opening his eyes, staring down to his feet, where Runa was giggling, before trying again to run a stubbly ball at the underside of Harley’s feet.

“Runa”, he murmured and shot up, grabbing her with a grin, enjoying her squeal as he lifted her up in the air, before bringing her down again. “What’s goin’ on?”, he asked around, after letting out a long yawn that was quickly, partially, covered by Runa’s hand in front of his mouth.

“You all have to get fitted, Junior”, Loki told him and held out her hands for Runa, that Harley handed over after another covered yawn.

“For the weddin’?”, he asked again.

“Yes. I know only Sleipnir’s going to be in the official picture, but I want all my children to look excellent.”

“Fine, fine, I’m up. Where is it?”

“Tony called the tailors, they’re in the common room, go shower and wear something comfortable, before making it down, if you still want to see how much the other boys hate it.”

That made Harley move quickly. He wouldn’t miss out on that event.

Váli looked very angry when Harley came into the room and he snarled at the tailor that was working on him, while Narfi tried to speak to him in soft tones.

“Pa…” Váli seemed to give up and gave Loki the puppy-dog-eyes, that Harley had trained into him. “I don’t like clothes, why do we have to wear clothes?”

“Because not everybody likes staring at your naked body, Son”, Loki quipped back, “Besides, Tony said they’re using breathable material that won’t cling too much to your body, even though in the cold we’re going, you should probably need a layer or two.”

“We’re half-Jötunn, Pa, we won’t freeze.”

“Tell me that again, when you come to me with clattering teeth”, Loki remarked and then spotted Harley, only to grab him and pull him on an empty pedestal. A few minutes later, Harley could tell why Váli didn’t like to be fitted all that much.

Tony was nervous. In just a few days, he and Loki would get married again. Of course, they’d never gotten divorced in the first place, but he was still afraid, Loki might say ‘No’ after all. Or that any of the Avengers might interject. Maybe it was good, that Loki had revealed her pregnancy before that. Tony knew this wasn’t the right way to think about it. This whole event could go sideways easily. Not if Loki said no, but if anyone else said so.

Thor still didn’t know why the bond had almost broken, what Tony had done. He was sure Xavier knew, but he had at least not told Kurt, it seemed, otherwise, Kurt shouldn’t be treating him like he was. Tony also doubted Loki had confided in her sons. It was pressing on Tony. He sighed again, as he stood in front of Thor’s room. He had to tell him, he couldn’t hide this anymore, if it would come out any later, it would only get worse.

“Brother Anthony”, Thor said in a surprised tone.

“I gotta tell you something”, Tony said.

“Is something wrong?”

Tony sighed and pushed through Thor to walk into his apartment. “There’s something that we didn’t necessarily hide, but never told you about and it might make you hate me and hit me and it’s better, if you know _now_ , because keeping secrets has brought us into this mess in the first place.”

“You speak nonsense, I could never loathe you, Anthony.”

“The broken bond.”

“What of it, has someone tried again, is Loki…”

Tony stopped him with a swipe of his hand and sighed a little. “The broken bond wasn’t because someone tried anything, not the first time at least. The broken bond was because I did something. Right after the whole Svartalfheim bullshit.” Tony’s heart was beating fast, as he looked up into Thor’s face, already fearing the outcome of his next words. “I hit Loki. I rejected him. I pushed him away. I hurt him.”

“This cannot be true, Man of Iron, you would never…”

“Are you not listening to me? I _hit_ Loki. I kissed him and then punched him in the face. I told him I didn’t want to see him anymore.”

“You were hurt because of his actions on Svartalfheim…”

“Are you seriously defending me right now, Point Break? I hurt your brother, my husband, or well, wife at the moment, physically!”

“I have hurt him many times before, he…”

Tony threw his hands into the air in frustration. “It’s not okay, don’t you get it? I shouldn’t hit him, nobody should hit someone they love. Really, nobody should hit anyone.”

“And have you since?”, Thor inquired.

“No! Of course not! After I realised, what I’d done…”

“Then it does not matter to me, friend Anthony, you have hurt my brother, yes, but he surely has forgiven you by now.”

Tony groaned. “But _I_ haven’t. Why can’t anyone… I can’t forgive myself; I don’t deserve him. I can’t…” Tony slumped to the ground, realising what he has to do. “I can’t make him marry me.”

Thor stared at him for a moment. “Surely, you know by now, that you cannot _make_ my brother do anything.”

“Then _I_ can’t. I can’t marry him, Thor, he’s too good for me. He was back then, he is now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *ducks* Don't kill me, this had to happen...


	27. To the Future

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Version One...

“Tony’s getting cold feet”, Clint informed Loki, who was curled up in a bunch of cushions and blankets in a rapidly freezing room. Tony had gotten scared all out of the sudden and that had launched Loki into a panic-attack.

“Why? Did I…”

“From all I could get out of Thor, he told him about how he mistreated you and realised, that he didn’t deserve you.”

“And… and now?” Loki’s lips were shaking, and she felt tears pricking her eyes.

“His therapist is with him. Thor said, it was so bad, that J.A.R.V.I.S. asked him to restrain Tony.”

“He was starting to hurt himself”, J.A.R.V.I.S. told Loki and she shuddered.

“And I should not go to him?”

“At the moment it would do no good, Madam. The therapist is the best person for him to talk to at the moment. Miss Potts is out of the question, she would be too harsh anyway and while Mister Hogan has the emotional capacity to help Sir, their relationship has been mostly work-based.”

“What about Rhodey?”, Loki asked, her tongue feeling heavy in her mouth.

“Colonel Rhodes is on his way back and has to get fitted, before I will direct him to Sir’s location.”

“And you won’t go to him?”, Loki asked Clint.

“What am I supposed to say? ‘We all know you feel like shit for what you did to Loki, and we won’t ever forget what you did, but please don’t embarrass her like that?’ Because that’s a shit thing to do or say.”

Grumbling Loki got up and walked towards the door. “If you can’t do it, I will.” She cursed a bit in languages she knew Clint wouldn’t understand and went to the elevator.

Thor welcomed her quickly, laying an arm around Loki’s side and leading her towards the living room, where Tony’s therapist, Marc, was kneeling in front of a bound Tony, who couldn’t escape, because Mjølnir was keeping him there. Marc looked at them and sent Loki a smile, waving her over.

“Hello Loki”, Marc greeted her.

“Hello. Dear, how are you feeling?”

“I screwed up”, Tony answered in a whimper and Loki pressed a kiss against his temple.

“When have you screwed up?”

“Last year, I hit you. I don’t deserve you, Loki, you’re too good.”

“Many people would disagree with you on the last statement, darling. And if you deserve me is something, I will decide for myself.”

“I’m not allowed to marry you.”

“Do you not want to?”

“Of course, I want to, but I shouldn’t be allowed.”

Loki pressed her lips against Tony’s cheek, pushing Tony’s chin up, so they saw into each other’s eyes. “Do you love me?”

“I do.”

“Do you want to be married to me?”

“Yes.”

“And do you want to celebrate again, so that nobody can ever deny or marriage, claim it void, claim it convenient?”

“Yeah.”

“Then please, Mister Anthony Edward Stark, what is the problem?”

“H-How can you want to marry me?”

“I love you. I have _never_ loved someone before you. I had so many opportunities, yet I will always choose you. I plan to spend the rest of eternity with you and possibly a few dozen children around.”

Tony chuckled a bit and softly they kissed. “I love you.”

“I want you to look at me, can you do that, Tony?”

Tony smiled at her, brokenly. “I’m sorry”, he whispered.

“You panicked. We all do. Do you remember my first mission?”

Tony nodded. “The one you got collared?”

Loki nodded and a hand went to her neck. “I was alone with Doctor Strange in the end and we talked of you.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Of course, you did.”

Loki chuckled. “He told me, you were lucky to have me, because I could have had so many others over the centuries, but in the end, I feel like the lucky one, that _you_ chose _me_.”

Tony softly pressed his lips against Loki’s and Loki freed him. “I’ll never let you go again, sweetheart. And I’ll never hurt you again”, Tony promised.

“And you’ll never try to run away from a danger that isn’t there.”

“Do your sons know what I did?”

“I will speak to them after the wedding.”

“Not before?”

“I think they might need a few days to think through it.”

“And then come to hate me.”

“I think they’ll be able to tell your regret it, as soon as they might talk to you. And I feel really like we should let this go soon. They need to know, I understand, but nobody else. Even telling James and Sam feels wrong, because we got to know them after everything had already happened.”

“Do your parents know?”

“And give them another reason to tear you or our children away from us?”

“I will not tell them either. Heimdall surely won’t either”, Thor spoke from the side and then went to take Mjølnir.

**I will not.**

“Great”, Loki answered with a sigh.

“Brother Anthony, are you alright now?”

“I still feel shitty about it.”

“Will you take my sister as your wife and her children as yours?”

“I will.”

Thor smiled and then helped the married couple off the floor.

“Have you thought about becoming Harley’s legal guardian yet?”, Tony asked Loki.

“His mother and I spoke of it, yes.”

“And will you?”

“I think so”, Loki answered, “If anything were to happen while he’s here, or even if he needed help, when he’s over there, it would make things so much easier. Are you still flying her and his sister out?”

“I sure am.” Tony gave Loki a peck on the cheek, before pulling her close and running his hand over Loki’s swollen belly.

Loki was dressed completely in white and gold, while Tony was wearing black and gold. Loki’s sons were dressed in blue, even Harley. They all fought over who should be walking Loki down the aisle this time around, but Loki had quickly decided it to be Thor, as he could not do it the first time around. And like the first time, Loki was in his natural skin.

Loki’s outfit was similar to his usual mission outfit, even complete with a cape. His bouquet was mostly made of violets and similar-coloured flowers.

“Loki”, Tony almost whispered. “To say I’ve known you for over five years now, would be an overstatement. I knew you about a week, back then, and I was head over heels for you after the very first, almost sober day.” A few chuckles could be heard. “I had never met someone like you, so incredibly young-seeming, but with such an old heart. You don’t take any of my shit and I learned after that very first week, that family was the most important thing to you.”

Tony’s thumb ran over Loki’s hand. “Family is your weakness, but it is also your strength. Nobody would ever dare touch them, because they are protected, whether biologically bound to you or somehow, in some capacity adopted. You’re very good at finding new friends, finding people to surround yourself with. I mean, it is very clear to see, when you look at the crowd. Last time we did this, there were mostly people you knew because you knew me. This crowd is a bit more balanced.”

Loki chuckled and Tony continued: “We’ve been through a lot. And I’m not very good at apologising, but I’d say out of the both of us, our hard times were probably my fault. I feel so incredibly lucky to be allowed to stand by your side again, to show again how much I love you. And I do. I love absolutely everything about you. Even when you take the problems of the galaxy on your shoulders and will not let anyone help you with it. I want to become the very best version of me by your side. I want to show everyone that we are one, and I want to show that we are equals.”

Loki smiled. “Equals, huh? Well, Tony, when I first met you, I wasn’t impressed. You were just another rich guy that seemed full of himself. I’m pretty sure, that’s how everyone sees you. The billionaire. But over that one week I learned that you weren’t just a billionaire and a businessman, but a very caring man. You sometimes don’t have tact, but you show that you care through everything you do. You had a family like no other. You had people that were fiercely loyal to you. You had nobody left, that you were blood-related to, but they would protect you, like you were their brother. And I’m pretty sure, that’s where we’re very similar. We both would never let anything happen to those we love.”

Loki sighed. “I really can’t judge for all your faults, because I have them as well. But there is one difference. You will always try to find a way to do it differently, when the world tells you there is only one way to do something. When someone tells you, there might be a chance of someone dying, if it is done the traditional way, you will make sure that there is another way. You will not _find_ that way, you will _create_ it. Sometimes it looks like we’re so similar, while other times we seem like day and night. You create, while I destroy. And yes, you might want to jump in and tell me, that you destroy too, but your first function is creation. And I love that about you. You make so many incredible things that even I have never seen done before.”

Loki turned their hands over. “I trust you. I trust you with my life and that of my children. And yes, I want to do that as equals. While I will protect you and those close to you, I know you will do the same for me and those close to me. The bond we already share might be more at risk for me, but the bond we will create here, together, that is one on equal footing. What used to be your team, is ours. While we do not _own_ it, I think we’d get a few protests if we claimed so, we are both in it and are equals there. What used to be only my children will today become also yours. You gave me a home and I will give you a place to return to. Equal footing, side by side, as one.”

Tony’s eyes glistened and when they kissed Loki could taste their mixing tears. At the same time, they pulled out their handkerchief and then chuckled, before wiping each other’s tears. “I love you”, Tony whispered.

“Eternally”, Loki breathed.

“Family-picture”, Loki called, and his boys came quickly running over, Thor dragging James and Clint with him, while Rhodey brought over Runa and Tony made him stay. “Junior?”

Harley’s head shot up and then went to his mother Amanda and his sister Abby, who both seemed like they wanted to push him off the seat. “I am not related to you”, Harley murmured as Loki placed him between Sleipnir and Váli.

“Are you so sure about that, Son?”, Tony asked and grinned at him, when Harley raised an eyebrow at him.

“What’s goin’ on?”

“Hmm”, Loki started, “Maybe it’s because your mother let us become legal guardians for you and possibly in the future Abby.”

“You’re what?”, Harley screeched and then stared towards his mother. “Mom?!”

Amanda Keener chuckled and whispered something to Abby, that the people in front of the camera couldn’t hear. Then she gave him a thumbs-up.

“So… So, I’m now _really_ one of you?”

“You’re now our brother”, Sleipnir answered with a nod and Váli pulled him into a half-hug.

“Welcome to the family, One”, Váli said.

“Now I can tell everyone I got _two_ dads and a mom. Or well, sometimes, two moms and a dad.”

“So, do you like it?”, Tony whispered in Loki’s ear, as they swayed from side to side on the dancefloor.

“I love it. And do you like our family?”

“They’re amazing.”

“Are you glad we don’t have to rush it this time?”

Tony snickered and then placed a soft kiss on Loki’s cheek. “And miss you for a couple months? Definitely. With how many people have you already danced?”

“Well, my brothers, my sons, even Harley tried. Clint, Steve… I think I got almost everyone that wished to. Oh, Nat too. I saw you dance with Amanda.”

“And Abby.”

“Kurt still has a dance open with me.”

“Is it your hurting feet or mine?”

“Mine, definitely, darling”, Loki answered and winked at him.

“We can dance more at home, I’ll take Sleipnir, you take Kurt”, Tony told him.

“Oh, are we making plans now?” Tony grinned up at him and they kissed slowly. “You should dance with Darcy. Figure out if we’re trending yet”, Loki added.

Tony smiled and then spoke: “How could Starks ever not be trending, Mister Stark?”

“True, all of our actions are public. It’s a wonder, that we managed to keep it quiet for almost two years.”

“I’m scared they’re going to figure out, that we have more children than one.”

“We already have five. And two on the way.” Loki chuckled a bit panicked and they kissed again.

“It will be fine.”

“I’ll take Kurt, you’ll take Darcy.”

“See you on the other side, sweetheart.”

“Hello Tricksters, what are you planning?”

“Nothing”, Harley lied badly and hid the snowballs behind his back.

“It seems we got another Trickster”, Loki commented, and the brunette’s head shot up.

“Oh hello, Mister Loki, Sir.”

Loki chuckled and shook the stretched-out hand. “Young Mister Parker, right? Oh, and who do I spot with my little eye? The sweet Miss Abigail Keener?”

Harley’s younger sister snickered and came out from behind Sleipnir. “We’re just playing.”

“I am sure you are.” Loki smiled at Shuri beside them, who had come to the wedding with her parents.

“Do we have to go home yet?”, Narfi asked, as he was making sure Runa was safe, while she played in the snow.

“No, sweethearts. I was just going to say, that there is dessert inside. Young Mister Parker, I am happy you’re comfortable with them around.” Loki led Peter a bit to the side and smiled down at him.

“They’re pretty cool.”

“And they have welcomed you into their midst?”

“Yes, Sir.”

Loki smirked. “Please, call me Loki. Are you going to the science camp again this year?”

“No. There was a waiting list, but I guess all the people that already went last year probably won’t be coming this year.”

“I guess that is true. We do have to be fair and not give friends and family an advantage.”

Peter nodded and then flinched, as a snowball flew right past his head. “I’ll get you for that, Harley!”

“I didn’t even hit you! Aah, Loki, save me!”

Loki chuckled as he saw the two boys run off.

“I didn’t want to do this in the middle of your wedding”, Hill announced, with Coulson at her side on their trip back home.

“What is it?”, Nat asked, quickly concerned.

“It’s about James’ and Loki’s cases”, Coulson said. “You have to tread lightly, it’s on shaky ground, so we have to at least let the public believe that you’re working with them.”

“So James and I have to stay in New York”, Loki gathered.

“It would be for the best. You’ll be working as a consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D. while you’re not able to go on missions, and of course, you’ll be helping out the Avengers off mission.”

Loki nodded swiftly. “Yes, Sir.”

“And I guess, I gotta go on every mission now?”, James asked, concerned.

“Just to show face, we’ll still pull you, if it’s HYDRA and Bruce?”

“Yes?”, the scientist asked, lifting his head a little.

“Could we ask for Hulk to be more active for the time being?”

Bruce sighed and then nodded. “Yes, Sir.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got an exam on Thursday (18.06.2020), so I'm extremely stressed at the moment. But hey, only two more weeks to go with Interlude. If you have an idea for the names of the twins, I'll need them by next week. Hopefully all of you have a less stressful week than I.  
> My notifications are a bit wonky at the moment, so I don't immediately get told that I got comments, but I still check multiple times a day, so comment away 🙂


	28. Summer

Needless to say, people weren’t as happy as the Starks with the renewal of their vows. Tony could avoid most of it while taking care of the science camp, but with Loki doing most press conferences, as the Tricksters stayed in New York for the summer, he couldn’t escape the drama. Accusations were thrown around and Loki had to keep his head high. He couldn’t falter.

This one dug deep though. ‘Creator of Monsters’. One of the protesters had snuck in and thrown it around. Like ‘Cockwhore’ or ‘Sinner’, though the last was rather harmless. Rhodey had seen how Loki froze and Nat had ushered the pigs-blood covered Trickster off stage, before James had dragged him away, into his bathroom and under the shower, where Váli and Narfi took over.

“It’s alright, Pa”, Váli kept whispering, until Loki broke into tears.

“It’s not”, Narfi finally said. “This is unacceptable. To treat a prince like this.”

“We cannot do anything about it”, Váli argued.

Loki slipped to the ground and both cried out their name for him in unison, creating a mixture of “Father” and “Pa”, sounding more like “Pather!”

Váli lifted him up and Narfi covered their butt-naked father in towels. Quickly they brought him from the bathroom into the bedroom and dried him, before dressing him in fresh clothing. Loki whimpered as they pressed close to him. When he had finally cleared his eyes of tears, he noticed the team hovering in the doorway.

“I’ll be taking over the press conferences”, Rhodey told him.

“I have to do _some_ thing”, Loki argued, “I can take it, better me than Tony.”

“We are _not_ putting you out there again”, Nat said in such a tone that didn’t allow objections.

Loki sniffled and watched as both super-soldiers moved their head, before moving the Avengers from the doorway in tandem, and Loki himself heard Tony barrelling down the apartment.

“I’m here, honey”, he hushed as he climbed to Loki’s freed side. Loki pressed his face into Tony’s shoulder. “Food?”

Loki shook his head. “Not hungry.”

“Honey, I know that’s not true.”

“Salty”, Loki mumbled into Tony’s shirt.

“Yes, you are. Team, something salty. Whoever gets him something he likes gets an item of their choosing in the range of…”

James held out a box of cut ham sausage, that Loki quickly tore open and rolled up, before putting it in his mouth and humming at the taste. “There’s this gorgeous pen I once saw”, James told Tony.

“You’re using your money on a damn pen?”, Clint cried out and Tony chuckled.

“Got a picture?”, Tony asked and James turned on his phone and looked through his pictures while Loki devoured the meat and Sam passed him another package, before going through his own phone and holding it out to Tony, before showing it to James who nodded. “That _is_ a nice pen.”

“Makes ya want to write letters again. Letters to yer Sweetheart”, James explained, and Tony nodded.

“Alright, J, find it and buy it.”

“Will do, Sir.”

Tony yelped as Loki pulled him close, before softly draping his arms over Loki’s curve. “Lokes?”

“Love you.”

“Love you too.”

Loki ate the rest of the sausage and then pulled Tony over him completely, enjoying his warmth.

“Is it okay to be scared?”, Loki whispered, his eyes still closed, the warmth making him drowsy. The team had left a few minutes ago.

“Of course, sweetheart”, Tony breathed.

“They could hurt all of us.”

“They could”, Tony answered, understanding Loki perfectly. “But you have all of us. We’re all in this together. There’s always someone out there with you, someone that can protect you. And I’m not alone either.”

Tony softly touched Loki’s chin and leaned down for a kiss.

“Are you scared?”, hushed Loki.

“I am. Always. Scared to lose you, scared to lose this. Scared that somehow it’s my fault that we got hurt. But even though I’m scared, I still go out every day. As long as they don’t know that they can hurt me, they can’t hurt me even worse. I have to be one step ahead of them, with J.A.R.V.I.S., with the team, with our family, as long as I am, they can’t hurt me as bad. We can’t stop living just because they _could_ hurt us.”

Loki smiled at him. “You sound like you know what it’s like, like you know what to fear.”

Tony pressed their foreheads together. “Well, knowing the threats makes me better at stopping them.”

Loki frowned. “Dear?” A shot of guilt flew through Tony and Loki grabbed Tony by the neck. “ _Dear_. What did you do?”

“Nothing that could hurt us.”

“Oh no, smarty-pants, you’re not getting around this one.”

“I may or may not have read one or two letters of hate-mail.”

“One or two?”

“Hundred…thousand?”

Loki growled. “Tony!”

“I stopped!”

“When did you?”

“Stop?”

“Start.”

“When you disappeared with the Aether?”, Tony whimpered, and Loki growled again.

“And when did you stop?”

“A few days after you were confronted by Pepper?”

“Why are you asking me?”

“Please don’t be angry.”

“How did it feel?”, Loki hissed, grabbing Tony by the collar and pulling him close.

“What?” Tony’s eyes were dancing between Loki’s, trying to focus, yet unable to.

“How did it _feel_ , to know, that there are people out there fantasising about hurting us?”

“Sometimes I had to hold myself back, because it would be so easy to just grab the suit and go to scare them.”

Loki shook his head and shook him at his collar. “We can’t have that, darling, that would be bad, do you understand?”

“Yes.”

“Can’t have Iron Man become the bad guy.”

“Yes, Loki.”

“You will never touch those letters again. They make you want to be bad.”

“Course, Loki.”

Loki crushed their mouths together and it took Tony a moment to react and let his hands glide to Loki’s neck and moaning into the kiss.

“That is so hot, you having a bad streak”, Loki breathed and hummed as Tony attacked his neck.

“It was so hard to hold back. I thought you died at first and every time you didn’t answer, while you were with James, oh Loki, why is it so easy to turn to the bad side?”

“Being wronged is an easy excuse to let that bad side out.”

“Keep me in my cage”, Tony whispered.

“I’ll keep you all to myself. You’re mine. My bad boy. Play the hero all day long, till someone has overplayed their hand.”

“Never hurt a good guy, but those that want to hurt any of us are fair game.”

“Only if I say so, you’ll listen to my word dear, right? The word of your Master? The word of your God?”

“My God, yes!”

Loki chuckled. “Give yourself over to me.”

“I’m yours, Loki, I will always be yours.”

“Mine”, Loki hummed with a smirk and stole another kiss.

“To the scrawny kid from Brooklyn”, James said, holding his glass high.

Steve chuckled. “Well, if you’re going that round, I say, to Erskine and the serum, that made me survive almost 70 years in the ice.”

“To the most American man we will ever meet”, Tony bellowed, already a little drunk.

“Aye. To be born on America’s birthday and become the sign of its strength is an upmost honour”, Thor told them.

Loki smirked at them. “To the man that doesn’t blink twice when his friends request his help.”

Tony kissed Loki’s crown. “To the man, that thinks he knows best.”

Steve rolled his eyes. “Seems I gotta learn from my elders.”

“To the youngest looking old guy”, Sam shouted.

“Human”, Loki quickly shot in and pointed at Sam, next to whom Clint shot finger-guns back.

“To the only person in the room, who hasn’t made it into the freakin’ Pillow Jail yet”, Harley shouted and jumped up. “There I go again, time me, J.” He grabbed a cupcake and walked towards the elevator.

“Can’t do anything about being a better rule-follower than the one that made the rules.”

“Yeah, remember that, little rule follower, that punk. Until anybody said one wrong word. Idiot got into way too many fights. Junior, wait up, I’m getting jailed too!” James got up, downed his drink.

“Sure about that?”, Harley asked and looked to the nearest camera.

“It’s just yellow, Sergeant Barnes. ‘Punk’ and ‘idiot’ are not considered swear words in my database.”

“Fucking hell, J.A.R.V.I.S., I just want to spend some time in fluffy pillows.”

“That’s red.”

“This is an Avengers emergency!”, shouted Sam with a grin and patted James on the back.

Loki laughed and conjured her helmet, that Tony had finally gotten back. “It seems I must join you”, he told them. “Someone has to make sure the jail stays a sex-free zone.”

“I totally do _not_ have a headache from the brawl a few hours ago”, Tony announced and linked his arm with Loki’s.

“Are you all leaving?”, Steve asked.

“Yes we fucking are”, Váli announced.

“For Norns’ sake, Steven, the Pillow Jail is the most comfortable place in the tower”, Narfi added.

Loki laughed maniacally and stepped into the elevator. “You’ll make it, sooner or later, Steve.” She sent him a wink and pulled her sons closer, before letting the helmet disappear into her dimensional pocket.

In Pillow Jail they all laughed and laid huddled up in front of the floor-high windows and enjoyed the lights on the horizon. Sleipnir, who had been watching Runa in Loki’s apartment, joined them shortly later. Clint and Nat were shortly later there too and an exhausted Rhodey joined them with a murmured: “Work is so darn annoying.”

Around half an hour passed, until Thor and Bruce finally brought Steve with them, carrying the shield, while Thor carried Mjølnir. “I called it an emergency”, Banner declared.

When they had all settled, Steve decided: “This isn’t half bad.”

Darcy strolled in ten minutes later, her phone in hand and announced: “Best way to celebrate Steve’s birthday.” Loki frowned. “Posted”, she announced and the two Starks shot up.

“No!”, they shouted similarly panicked, staring at their children.

“Oops”, Darcy said, and Tony groaned.

“J, please inform P.R. and Hill, what just happened.”

“Of course, Sir.”

Loki sighed and cuddled close to Tony. “Well, cat’s out of the bag.”

“Good that you don’t do any press conferences for the time being”, Nat answered.

“Not my problem to deal with then”, Loki answered.

“I’m sorry”, Darcy whispered, and Loki sighed, waving her to lay with them.

“It’s okay, at least it’s in a safe space.”

“And Harley’s and Runa’s faces are turned away, so… I don’t think the usually masked heroes can get recognised either.”

“Some good at least. Anonymity. At least the Parkers weren’t here.”

Tony hummed. “We could also just ignore it. With the bond everything they came up with was worse. I don’t think they can create something bad about unknown children.”

“That clearly look like me. Proving some of the stories right.”

Tony pressed a kiss to Loki’s temple. “We will not let them have this story.”

“So…” Loki crossed her arms, as Nat and Rhodey came back from the press conference. “How bad is it?”

“I wouldn’t call it bad”, Rhodey said.

“Well, they want to know how many more illegal aliens are detained in the tower.”

“Which is not that bad, because we could confidently say, that there are no illegal aliens in the tower.”

“Which became true, when Tony adopted my sons and they became American as well”, Loki thought.

“See, not bad.”

“Did they want to know who they were?”, Loki asked.

Nat sighed: “Yeah, but us being the masters that we are…”

“Could say that it had nothing to do with the Avengers and was of no concern to the public”, Rhodey closed.

“Did it work?”, Tony asked, stumbling in the room.

“Nobody’s hunting the kids”, Loki assured him.

“Not yet at least”, Nat stated, “Can never be too careful what the government might think or do with it.”

“Or the World Security Council”, Rhodey said, with an exaggerated shiver, “They might think you went off-world to bring your kids here.”

“Kids who robbed and hurt people”, Nat told them and adding: “Just stating how they might see it.”

Loki rubbed her head in her hands. “Oh Norns, how bad can this go?”

“Well, at least we didn’t try to actively hide it and shove it under a rug”, Tony said, pulling Loki in a hug, “Everything will be alright, sweetheart.”

Loki honestly hoped so, he did not want to leave again, especially not now as Harley was with them, Junior shouldn’t have to worry on his vacation.


	29. August

A few weeks after Steve’s birthday Loki woke with a start, grasping her own heart and then looking around, before feeling over her swollen belly. Then she felt at her neck.

“T-Tony?”, Loki whispered.

With a small groan, Tony woke up. “It’s the middle of the night…”

“Is my head the right way round?”

Tony chuckled and then frowned at Loki. “Course it is, what’s going on?”

“Someone died.”

“Someone?”

“I must have known the person very well.” Loki rubbed at her head. “‘Thanos put Gamora under your charge’”, she mumbled, and they stared at each other.

“Thanos?”

“It wasn’t him who died. That wouldn’t have been so easy. But it… It probably was that other bastard.”

“Was it someone good who killed him?”

“He seemed more like an ally, that was upset with him.”

“And killed him.”

Loki shrugged. “I’ve had worse.”

“But who’s Gamora?”

“A foe, I believe.”

“And the enemy of my enemy is my friend?”

“She seems to have… _She_ seems to have done something they did not want. ‘Your sources said, she meant to betray us the whole time.’”

Tony stared at her. “So… enemy of my enemy?”

“It would seem so.”

“Yay, we got a Gamora, that’s against Thanos.”

“I heard the name before though”, Loki whispered, “I just can’t recall where…”

“Does it matter right now?”

“I suppose not.”

“So, he died right now?”

“Maybe a few hours ago, present dreams are not always _present_. Some are from a bit earlier, others are not started yet, when one dreams. But it would be too late to do anything about it from the time one wakes.”

“Okay. So, sleep or no sleep?”

“Heart rate’s still high.” Loki pressed onto the alarm clock and it showed a little after four in the morning. “Guess tea it is.”

“Do I have to come?”

“Only if you don’t want me to show up later, when you’re having fun with the students and give you a stink-eye so big, that rumours start, that we’re separating.”

“Okay, I’m up.” Tony rolled out of the bed and promptly landed on the ground without any support. “Send the stretchers!”

Loki snickered a little. “I ain’t helping you, darling, I already carry twins, I can’t carry you as well.”

“Yeah…” Tony rolled onto his back and then smiled up at Loki. “You’re so gorgeous, sweetheart. Especially when you’re bossy.”

When Steve showed up at the mansion with James in tow, a few days later, Loki and Tony had a mirrored bad feeling in their stomachs, which only got worse, when James took out a duffle bag from the trunk.

“What’s goin’ on?”, Harley asked, a candy cane in his mouth.

“They’re coming after me again. Hill told Nat, because of faked brainwashing, she said they’re coming after illegal aliens next.”

Loki paled and turned to Tony, pressing their foreheads together. “I must go.”

“Yes. Harley, tell the boys to start packing.” Harley nodded, as pale as the couple and ran off.

Loki’s hands shook, as she led the two super-soldiers inside. “Did you say goodbye to Sam?”

“Can’t. He’s in D.C.”

“You can’t go to Asgard”, Steve said, and Loki nodded.

“I am aware. But I will not let them get their hands on James or our children.”

“Where can we go? Back to the cabin?”, James asked, looking down at Loki’s belly, “Being on the run is not an option, not with twins so far on the way and a baby at our side, it was already bad the last time around.”

Loki shivered and looked from Steve to Tony. “There’s one place on Earth, that has enough protection and will always welcome me”, Loki told them. Tony’s head fell and Loki pushed it up softly to kiss him. “James and the boys will protect me.”

“What’s going on?”, James asked.

Steve sighed. “They’re speaking of Wakanda. Their prince has a major crush on Loki and kissed her, when Loki and Tony were in a rocky patch. Worse, she was seventeen, well, a seventeen-year-old male at the time.”

James got a deadly stare on his face and a fist at his side. “Should have left the HYDRA arm on, so I could smash his head in.”

Loki took his wrist and opened the fist, kneading the hand. “Getting physical will not be a good idea. He may only be a prince and his father sees me in a bright light, but while we’re there, we have to stay friendly enough.”

“He will not get close enough to touch you or Runa.”

Tony nodded. “Thank you, Jamie.”

“Course.”

“First though”, Loki said with a sigh, taking out her phone, “We must invite ourselves into a hidden country.”

“I missed you”, Shuri stated like a fact, hugging Loki tightly, careful of her pregnant belly.

“You just saw us six weeks ago”, Loki commented.

“Well, you’re still my favourite alien, so I can miss you as much as I want.” She looked around. “What? No Harley?”

“He opted to stay in New York, he sends his greetings though.”

“‘Greetings’”, Shuri quoted with a scoff, “He doesn’t talk like that.”

“And besides”, Loki explained, “School begins in two weeks.”

“The poor white boy, come in everyone, James, I want you in my lab, so I can have a look at your poor coloniser shoulder.”

James lifted an eyebrow, but then chuckled a little. “Alright, Princess Shuri. If Loki trusts you.”

“Hey, Shuri only and I healed Loki before, so she should better trust me.”

“Let us get you and your family settled”, T’Chaka interrupted the conversation and Loki greeted him with a smile, his children, even little Runa copying him after a moment. James seemed a little confused, but then laid his arm in front of his chest as well, making Shuri chuckle.

“I need to finish your second arm, I’m off, Baba!” She crossed her arms again and then ran off, making James look after her confused.

“ _She’s_ making my arm?”, he asked Loki.

“I had not known until this second either, but she is very good, you have nothing to worry about, James.”

“If you say so.”

“My daughter wants you out of pain”, T’Chaka assured him, “She will not settle until she made you an arm, that makes you feel like it is no different than your flesh and bone one.”

“I guess then I have to be very specific with what I tell her.”

“I’d say honest, Sergeant Barnes.”

T’Chaka showed them to their suite with a bed for everyone, although Loki already knew that Váli would probably cuddle up with either Narfi or Sleipnir at night again, if he does not come to Loki’s side.

“This is nice”, James noted, looking out the window. “Better than a cabin in the woods.”

“I liked the woods better”, Váli told him, “Everything here smells different, Shuri smells alright though, but one shouldn’t smell a Lady.”

Loki chuckled at that. “I bet she’d love to see you in your different form, once you’ve mastered it.”

Loki could avoid T’Challa for exactly one week, she was reaching for some food on the table at breakfast, when T’Challa came into the room, clearly having not spent a lot of time sleeping and instead working out.

“I am back”, he announced, and Loki almost felt like Thor had walked into the room, wanting all attention from their parents.

“We can see that, Son, now go back to your room, dress and then you may have breakfast with our guests.”

T’Challa flushed, as he looked at the table and then fled the room. Loki sighed a little.

“Manners”, Narfi scoffed.

Váli, biting into the meat, continued: “Even I have better ones.”

“And you’re eating with your mouth full”, Loki told him and Váli quickly apologised.

“So that’s the guy?”, James growled, not even noticing anymore when Shuri prodded him to test his reactions.

“That is T’Challa, our oldest”, T’Chaka confirmed.

“And yes, the guy that kissed Loki while she was in an underage mindset and married to a different person”, Shuri said, absentmindedly, pushing the fabric on James’ shoulder out of the way and then picking at the shoulder again, looking for any nerve bundles.

“Shuri, could you not do any experiments at the table”, Ramonda asked with a sigh and Shuri rolled her eyes, before turning to her meal again.

“Can I scare him?”, Váli asked, finally having fully gulped down his meal.

“We don’t scare people”, Loki told him.

“Norns”, Váli cursed.

“We just trick them”, Loki then corrected and saw how Váli grinned widely.

“I can help with that”, Shuri announced, before pointing at her parents. “You know nothing.”

“Of course not, adults only talk among adults”, T’Chaka told her with a smirk, before looking over to Sleipnir, who was feeding his little sister. “I am glad you have your family together again”, he then said to Loki.

“You’ve already told me, every single morning.”

“Well, I see you happy every single morning, old friend, see how happy you are to have them all together again, I am overjoyed.”

Loki smiled and then leaned into Narfi’s side, who was watching them closely. “I still hope my family will not have to stay here for so long, Runa’s already starting to miss Tony again, and I can’t teleport back to New York as easily as before.”

“Of course”, T’Chaka assured and they turned to the door again, where T’Challa entered, frowning around the table, before setting his eyes on Loki.

“Did you multiply?”

At least he picked Loki out correctly. “No, these are my sons, Váli, Narfi and Sleipnir, my daughter Runa and James Barnes.”

“Our very scary Uncle”, Váli told T’Challa. “I don’t like you; you smell bad.”

Loki chuckled and put her head into her hands. “Dear, you know you don’t tell people that.”

“Well, he’s not ‘people’, he’s a _lombungr_ , I can tell him.”

Loki chuckled and then looked to Ramonda and T’Chaka. “Forgive my son, they are all very protective.”

“I’ll teleport you onto another realm and leave you there, if you so much as touch Ma”, Sleipnir told T’Challa.

“Okay, is nobody on my side?”, T’Challa asked.

“What you did, is, like my twin said, the actions of a _lombungr_ , a moron. First, you knew that Father was married and then second, you knew that Father was not in a legal mindset.”

“He was only a bit shorter; would any normal human be able to tell?”

“You were _told_ ”, Loki growled. “I expected better of you, T’Challa.”

“I am sorry, Loki, I truly am, it was just…”

“You thought it was your last chance of being with me?”

“Yes.”

“It was a very stupid decision. It brought Tony and I only closer together.”

“And you got married again”, T’Challa remarked.

“I hope you’re not angry, I did not invite you to the wedding. You would have had a very bad time”, Loki told T’Challa.

“I can tell. I can’t even get breakfast anymore, without being confronted what of an arse I am.”

“You will learn from your mistakes, you will become a proper prince and a proper king one day, maybe even a wise one, like your father.”

Loki stood, having enough of the conversation and like a wave, her sons followed him into stance.

“I will be in my rooms, if you need me”, Loki told the family and then looked to T’Challa, telling him: “Don’t need me.”

Váli slung his arm around Loki and James followed them with a small sigh.

Even though Loki was surrounded by her children, she still felt alone most of the time. Thor had been told to keep an ear out, about Thanos and the one called ‘Gamora’, but to not act stupidly, Loki really hoped he wouldn’t do something stupid, like actually engage in battle with either. Whenever Thor could, he smuggled books from Asgard to Midgard, not just to further the children’s knowledge, but so Loki would not grow bored.

Usually, James and Loki watched the news on the Avengers, and called the tower at least twice a day. Giving assistance when they were a thousand miles away from the action was hard and often Loki thought about how much easier it would be, if James and she would just give themselves over, but if not any of her children would say anything against it in the moment, it was still lastly Tony in their midnight call, that reminded her, that she was pregnant and could not risk being imprisoned. Not when they wouldn’t know any way out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, the next chapter will still be in Wakanda...


	30. Wakanda is a magical place

“I’m bored”, Loki exclaimed, laying around Shuri’s lab, where her whole family plus James now mainly resided, now that T’Challa was back and was avoiding the lab. They didn’t want to accidentally cross paths with him.

Her sons were all studying their own spells, Narfi mostly focusing on practical spells, like teleportation, while Sleipnir focused on healing magic and Váli tried to perfect his shapeshifting, to Runa’s amusement.

“Well, you could help me out”, Shuri told her and Loki slouched over to her table, where she was poking James, who had recently become interested in reading modern literature and was now neck-deep in the third Harry Potter book.

“What are we doing?”, Loki asked, sitting down on James’ lap.

“Prodding”, she said and then showed her where to paint points. “Friday we’re doing the first surgery, to get a new anchor in and make sure nothing’s infected.”

“So actual responsible stuff.”

Shuri raised a pointed eyebrow. “Oh, you’re _that_ bored.”

“Yes, I’m _that_ bored.”

“The pregnant lady is bored enough to actually act like a child.”

“I wanna do _tricks_ ”, Loki told her and a moment later, James threw his book across the lab and four grinning children were at Loki’s feet.

“We’ve been waiting for those words all week”, Narfi said with a glint in his eyes and Váli grinned widely.

“What kinda tricks?”, Shuri asked, putting her tools away, “Because I’ve been waiting for a reason to turn T’Challa’s suit pink and give it an actually working tail.”

“And James told us about this thing called soap bubbles and we want to create one big enough to carry Runa around”, Sleipnir added.

“How about just doing something simple like spelling T’Challa, so that every time he lies, his nose grows a little longer?”, James told him.

“All of those”, Loki shouted with glee and then pointed to Sleipnir. “Let’s start with the soap bubbles, because I really want to see, if we can do that.”

“I can help”, Shuri shouted and then quickly begun calculating chemicals to make the bubbles steady enough that they wouldn’t burst so quickly.

“And Váli can get started on making a panther tail.”

“On myself?”, the boy asked.

“On an object, dear.”

“I’ll get started on looking for a spell that James wanted”, Sleipnir told them and promptly summoned a few dozen spell books.

“I’ll, uhh…”, Narfi started and looked around, before settling on his twin brother, “I’ll try to help him.” He still took a few spell books that Sleipnir handed him and then headed over.

Loki smiled down at Runa, who seemed thrilled that things were actually happening. “Ama, ‘icks”, she said and clapped her hands.

James got Loki to stand and then moved a bit around to shoot a picture from the side of the labs where the mines weren’t able to be seen. A moment later, Loki received it as well in the Avengers chat.

** Chatroom “Avengers”: **

**WhiteWolf:** ‘Loki said the magic words’

Loki chuckled and then smiled even more, when the answers prattled in.

**IronMan:** ‘What are the magic words?’

**Hawkeye:** ‘obviously not “please” and “thank you”, I never get such results when I say those’

**BlackWidow:** ‘That’s because you never say those’

**WarMachine:** ‘I bet it has something to do with actual magic’

**IronMan:** ‘Lokes doesn’t need words to make magic, Platypus’

**CaptainAmerica:** ‘What are the magic words, @Snowflake?’

Loki grinned and then whispered into her phone: “I want to do tricks.”

**IronMan:** ‘*falls off chair* How dare you??? @WhiteWolf, I want updates!’

Loki laughed loudly and then called Tony.

“Lokes, how can you start doing actual tricks when I’m not around to see them?”, Tony whined, and Loki laughed even louder.

“Usually you don’t bore me enough, so I want to actually do that.”

“I still want to see it”, Tony told her.

“You will get updates, is it a slow day over there?”

“Well, I’m on my way to a meeting, so not really.”

“Well, I wish you good luck, I have to look after the children.”

“Oh, before I forget, how is the arm coming along?”

“Surgery is on Friday, so don’t dare decide to put a big spectacle like an alien invasion on the same day.”

“Alright, alien invasion is out, we’ll go with some maniac trying to kidnap politicians again.”

“Thank you. Love you.”

“Love you too, darling, see you hopefully soon, oh and call Nat for updates.”

“Will do.” Loki hung up and then looked over to where Shuri was on a video call, chuckling when she saw it was actually Bruce.

“But don’t tell Stark about that, alright, we’ll make a video with the results, B-B, and I want him to be surprised.”

“In other words, Bruce, avoid S.I. for the day”, Loki called over Shuri’s shoulder and gave a short wave to Bruce, before sitting down next to Sleipnir and then playing with Runa.

The little girl seemed now more often fascinated by Loki’s pregnant belly, touching it gently and then sometimes even falling asleep while leaning on it. Loki had been teaching her small tricks, before her Seiðr had become crucial around the beginning of September.

Runa showed her the little light she could now make. The light thankfully wasn’t really warm or cold on touch and couldn’t set anything on fire, but it made Loki happy every time she saw it and a warm pride flowed over her body.

“Ama see”, Runa told her and made the light dance around them and Loki smiled brightly.

“Very good, sweetheart”, she told her, “I’m so proud of you.”

Runa grinned and the light glowed brighter, a beautiful violet colour.

In the end the funniest out of the tricks they did was the soap bubbles trick. The video of Runa riding a caterpillar of soap bubbles found a lot of giggles and laughter in the Avengers Tower, as it brought smiles even on the hardiest of Wakanda’s warriors. Loki eventually opted out of spelling T’Challa directly, securing the spell for another time, but she had the thought one of her children would go through with it just to give Loki something to laugh at on a slow day.

James, Loki and the children were hiding behind a veil, as Shuri presented T’Challa with the guised upgraded suit. When the suit closed around T’Challa and promptly turned a very recognisable pink colour, they had to hide their laughter, as Shuri made a video. T’Challa only noticed the difference, once the tail popped out and it gave him a different balance, making him actually stumble for a second, before looking around irritated.

Loki was the first to burst into laughter, breaking the veil and she had to hold herself on Sleipnir’s shoulder for balance.

“What did you do?”, T’Challa asked, first looking at Shuri, then focusing on Loki.

“Oh”, Loki roared with laughter again, before she could take a breath, “ _I_ didn’t do anything, I wouldn’t waste my precious Seiðr for this.”

“My idea”, Shuri shouted and then laughed loudly as the tail brought T’Challa off balance again.

Loki’s children were laughing so hard, Váli and Sleipnir actually shifted into their other forms, causing another uproar of laughter, T’Challa finally joining in.

When they had all calmed and T’Challa had been freed of the suit, Loki had a bright smile on her face and T’Challa seemed calmer too.

“I had to know this would happen sooner or later”, T’Challa told the room, “I just did not expect an actual tail.” He breathed deeply and then giggled again. “Thank you”, he then said and made to leave.

“Don’t you want to see the video of Runa riding a soap bubble?”, Loki invited him and T’Challa turned around, hope tinging his face.

“I’d like that, yes”, he then told them and walked over to Shuri, calming a little.

They would be alright. Maybe even T’Challa. Maybe they’d get back to being friendly, maybe even friends. Of all the things Loki had done wrong in her life, she couldn’t really fault T’Challa for trying to take his chance, even if he had the absolute wrong approach.

A week later James, Loki and the kids, got to video chat with the team. The set-up alone was hard to do, getting 5 adults on one sofa, so Váli and Sleipnir opted out and sat on the ground.

“How are things?”, Loki opened with and the team immediately laughed.

“Chill”, Clint told her.

“Things are good”, Rhodey then said, before asking: “How are things on your end?”

“Well”, James said and moved to the camera to show off the anchor, that the medical team had put on him, “it seems to be moving forward.

“How’s it feeling?”, Tony asked, curious, after James hat sat down again.

“Feels good, they had to set a few things, finally not hurting anymore, it’s odd, to live without pain.”

“Well, that’s how it _should_ be”, Sam told him.

“We got news”, Steve then finally said and immediately Hill and Coulson plopped up. They waved for a moment and everybody obediently waved back.

“Well”, Hill started, “James’ case is through, though we expect you to not be back until you’ve gotten your new arm.”

James sighed relieved and then nodded. “Yes, Director Hill.”

“Good. And we got good confirmation, that at least the cases of Loki’s children are almost done, it really shouldn’t take that long, but the people had a few problems with aliens being granted citizenship.”

“What about Loki’s case?”, James then asked.

“That’s the problem”, Hill said, “Loki’s statements are seemingly not enough for them and they want a statement from what exactly happened in the months you spent in space, Loki.”

Loki paled and then found Tony’s eyes on the other window.

“They can’t do that, can they?”, Tony asked.

“They apparently can.”

“My notebooks”, Loki breathed, “It’s all documented. I can’t show up, not at this time. Thor might know a translator, I, I…”

“No”, Tony stopped him, “Those are your personal thoughts, nobody can read them, not anybody we don’t trust to go into too many details.”

“Can’t we read them?”, Narfi asked and Váli nodded, adding: “We’ve learned a lot of languages and scriptures.”

Loki thought for a moment and then sighed. “It will be gory read.”

“They will ask, why you sent your sons, but cannot attend yourself.”

“Yes”, Loki whispered and hid her face in her hands. “Norns.”

“You have to come back”, Coulson stated with a sigh.

“Can I have a week or two?”, Loki asked quietly, but loud enough for the microphone to pick up.

“You can have until Barnes has his new arm and there are no problems with it. And we can’t push it forever.”

Loki nodded. “We will prepare to return to New York then.”

“Barnes?”, Coulson asked.

“Yes, Sir?”

“Protect Loki, at all cost.”

“Already am, Sir.”

“Alright. Please stay safe, everyone.”

The Directors disappeared again and Loki got up.

“I… I need a minute”, she told them and Narfi stood, laying his arm around Loki, leading her from the room.

“This is not good news for me”, Loki whispered to his seemingly eldest, even if Váli was actually born before him.

“You will get through this.”

“I will have to go in my natural skin, I cannot go in the other form.”

“You are more protected in that form, Father”, Narfi assured.

Loki sank to the ground and Narfi pulled her into his arms. “But what if something happens?”

“You’re paranoid, and for good reason, Father, we will do everything in our power to prepare, be it crafting enough charms and filling them with protection spells, or be it, staying away and keeping home.”

“Can you stay at my side during everything?”

Narfi pressed a kiss to Loki’s temple. “Of course, Father.”

“I need the others to stay at the mansion, with Bruce. Most of the team will come to show support, but I don’t think Bruce would want to witness everything that I have to tell in court.”

“Is it that much of a horror?”, Narfi asked.

“I had contemplated ending my life several times in the time before I reached Earth.”

“Norns”, Narfi breathed and Loki shook a little, when her phone vibrated.

Quickly she saw the blocked number, knowing already who it had to be and answered with: “What is it?”

“You can’t go to court”, Fury told her.

“I must”, Loki whispered, “to free myself. I promised to stand in front of _any_ jury.”

“Thanos is…”

“Classified, I know. I cannot lie, but I can tell them it’s classified, yes, but I must tell them something to free myself.”

“And you gotta tell them the truth.”

“Will you be there?”

“You know I can’t. Not even every Avenger knows I’m alive. I’m taking care of things in the background, so don’t worry.”

“They will play dirty.”

“We know so, Stark refused to take the lawyers that S.H.I.EL.D. offered, even denying S.I.’s and Xavier’s help.”

“He has a plan then; he might know someone who will do good with this case.”

“Let’s hope so. I gotta go, remember, classified.”

“Yes, Sir.” Loki hung up and took a deep breath, smiling at Narfi. “Better start on those protection spells, Son, I have a feeling we won’t stay here for much longer.”

“Who was that?”, Narfi asked.

“A dead friend”, Loki answered, and a smile appeared on her face, before she chuckled. “I really shouldn’t depend as much on the dead.”


	31. Missouri

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Contains events shown in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2"

The arm itself took only a week to get made and then Shuri and James take another two to get it perfected, so that James could feel things on it. With a few adjustments, James could actually change the colouring of the whole arm and anchor, so that it could appear flesh.

It was now a few weeks into October and Loki was in his natural flesh most times. When the Avengers got called out to Missouri, to what seemed like alien activity, Loki couldn’t sit still any longer. Sleipnir took the other children with him to the mansion, and T’Challa brought Loki and James, in guises as Mister and Mistress Svenson, not married, but rather a pair of siblings, to Missouri.

The sight was interesting to say the least, Loki decided, staring at a big blue blob, that grew and grew until it finally stopped, long enough to gather watchers, before growing and engulfing people in its wake once more and then after a while just falling into itself, until it disappeared. Loki and James helped to evacuate people, before everything just got a bit too much and Loki stood huffing at the side of a building, James worried at her side.

“Can you go on?”, he asked, absentmindedly keeping an eye out for the actions the Avengers had taken.

“I don’t, I don’t…”

“Here, Ma’am”, an older man said, and handed her a bottle of water, before mumbling: “Damn these aliens, first they take my grandson, now this.”

Loki took a few gulps and then asked: “Your grandson?”

“Peter”, he answered, “got abducted.”

“You can’t really mean”, James started, and Loki stopped him with a hand.

“When did this happen?”, Loki asked.

“What’s it to you?”

“I know an alien or two, I could keep an eye out, Sir.”

The man laughed. “You can’t be serious.”

Loki dropped her guise just around her arm, showing off the blue skin. “Very serious.”

The man gulped and then grabbed his wallet and pulled out a picture of a young boy. “This is from 1988, before he got taken.”

“How old was he?”

“Around eight.”

Loki shook her head. “So young.”

“That means he’d be what… 34 now?”, James asked and then whispered to Loki: “We have nothing to go on, you can’t be serious.”

Loki took an Avengers card from her own wallet and handed it over to the man. “What’s his name?”

“Peter Quill.”

“I’ll get Thor on it, mind if I keep this?”

“There’s a bunch online, this is…”

“Yours, of course”, Loki answered and handed the photo back with a smile. “A sweet child, one always wants to protect the youngsters, right?”

The man nodded. “What do I do with the number?”, he then asked.

“You call it, ask to be put in contact with Loki on the Quill case, after that, we’ll get in contact with you.”

“You’re Loki, or, what do they call you… Snowflake?”

Loki smiled and then winked at the man, “But that must stay between us, you understand?”

“Yes Ma’am. Keep the water, I’ll keep this. And stay well, thank you.”

Loki nodded and shook the man’s hands, before the man moved on.

“What was that?”, James hissed.

“His grandson, probably from this town was abducted by aliens. In the same town 26 years later, a big blue… monstrous, deadly, alien… Do you get what I’m getting at yet?”

“You think they’re connected.”

“Exactly.” Loki took another few sips of water, before grabbing her phone and looking up ‘Peter Quill’. A few articles pop up with the same picture of a young boy. She showed James and then forwarded him the link, so they could both read on their own devices.

“Ma’am, Sir, we need you to evacuate”, a voice came next to him and a smile spilled on Loki’s face.

“Not now, Sam, we’re investigating.”

“Ma’am, I would really like to be sure, especially with your pregnancy…”

Loki looked up at Sam, in his ‘Falcon’-outfit and raised a pointed eyebrow.

“Ever heard of a Peter Quill, Wilson?”, James asked and showed him his phone.

“No, Sir, this really isn’t all that important.”

“A kid abducted by aliens in the same town that now had an… explosion of some sorts, that seems eerily alien is unimportant?”, Loki asked.

“We don’t know the source of the explosion yet.”

“Bull-shit”, Loki told him, “The first thing Tony would have done is get satellite footage, before you even arrived here.”

“All due respect, Ma’am, you don’t know Tony Stark.”

Loki laughed at that and James swiftly joined in. “Yeah, yeah, Wilson, we don’t know Tony _at all_.”

“Ask him to check the mansion for some wayward children, or wait”, Loki pulled the phone to her mouth. “J.A.R.V.I.S., who’s in the mansion at the moment?”

“Sleipnir, Váli, Narfi and Runa occupy the mansion at the moment, Madam.”

Sam’s eyes got wide and then he let out a surprised laugh. “Shit, guys, come on, we going home?”

“Yes”, Loki decided and then gave Sam a short hug, “We’re coming home.”

“Tony’s going to be so surprised.”

“Not really, but maybe he’ll listen to me more than you do, Sammy.”

“Oh, you betcha”, Sam told them and then led them to the Quinjet.

“No, no civilians”, Rhodey tried to stop them, earning an eyeroll from Loki and James, before they pressed their amulets to drop their guises.

“Sure, no civilians, let’s go with that”, Loki told him, before sidestepping him and walking into the Quinjet, “Darling, you here?”

Tony, still half in his suit stumbled out into the main area. “Lokes?!”, he screeched, before rushing forward and locking lips with him. “You’re here, how did you get here?”

“Had a friendly bring us over when we heard the news. Thor make it yet? This was alien.”

“Is alien.”

“Was. I am pretty sure, none of your sensor can detect any of it anymore.”

“Damn, I missed you.”

“And I you.”

“How are the babies?”

“Really annoying at times”, Loki said and pressed Tony’s hand on his big belly, where the infants promptly started kicking.

“Oh my…” Tony dropped to his knees and pressed both gauntlet-free hands against Loki’s baby belly. “Hi, sweethearts, it’s Daddy.”

Loki smiled fondly at Tony and then giggled, as he saw the different Avengers stare at the scene.

“Wonderful day for a mission isn’t it?”, Loki asked, as if nothing was in any way weird about Tony kneeling before him and talking to his stomach.

“Beautiful day”, Rhodey agreed, “Tones, how’s it looking?”

“They’re kicking.”

“The blob.”

“Oh the…” Tony stumbled to his feet. “The blob, yes, no it, J.A.R.V.I.S. isn’t picking up anything anymore.”

“How many casualties do you count?”, Loki asked.

“We haven’t confirmed the missing yet.”

“It stopped long enough to gather spectators”, Loki said quickly and sat down on a seat and took another drink from the bottle.

“Exactly. The numbers could be in the thousands.”

Loki sighed and then looked up, when they heard the Bifrost crashing nearby. Thor marched onto the Quinjet, followed by Sif, Volstagg and Hogun. “Every planet”, he said, before they could even asked, and then looked to Loki, “as far as we can tell anyway.”

“Even Asgard?”, Loki asked.

“Even Asgard, even _Svartalfheim_.”

“Any idea why?”

“Nothing solid as of yet”, Sif answered, before telling Loki, “There are theories.”

“A child?”, Loki asked, and they looked surprised.

“What do you mean?”, Tony wanted to know.

Loki went over to Tony’s lab station and nodding at the picture of a plant, before opening it on his phone to show it to the Asgardians.

“I found a similar plant on Asgard _centuries_ ago. Upon investigating it, I concluded that it would not make other plants, even if it was embedded deep into the ground itself. I brought the knowledge to a few others, but they had no knowledge beyond it. Interestingly enough, around the time the plants were first documented, a child was born in a nearby stead, always to a single mother, which then disappeared at a young age.”

“What is this?”, Thor asked.

“ _Was_ ”, Loki corrected him, “It was something ancient. The reports reached from before even Bor’s time. But as they never occurred twice on one realm, nobody thought to bring it to any attention.”

“What do we do?”

“You must seek knowledge of this in the universe, Brother, I cannot leave, my time is near, and the Council…”

Thor nodded, thoughtful, before pulling Loki in a careful hug. “You must stay, I know. No adventures for you.”

Loki smiled softly and then nodded to the other Asgardians.

“Would you mind…”, Volstagg started, before fiddling with his hands.

“Yes?”, Loki asked.

“My children are grown now, would you mind if my wife and I gave you the pelts? They slept so well on them.”

Loki chuckled. “I would not mind, no, Volstagg, that is a very kind offer. I am just not sure if they’ll get any use.”

“Well, they won’t get any use in my family for a while now. Hildegund has said she would not want children for another century at least and she was the one who offered.”

Loki laughed. “It’s serious then. Wait till the children are born, Volstagg and I will send you back with a picture of the infants, I am sure, she can be persuaded to bear a few more children of yours.”

Volstagg chuckled as well and nodded. “We’ll be on our way then.”

“And keep a head out for gossip, I know it was usually Fandral’s job, but…”

“I’ll keep an open ear”, Hogun promised and they nodded again, before departing.

“That was… odd”, Steve broke the silence, after they heard the Bifrost again.

“Volstagg will have a whole shed full of children before his wife truly can’t bear anymore. He’s a very loving father. He loves the adventures, but he loves spending time with his family just as much.”

“So, what’s the chance of us actually getting weird pelts?”, Tony asked.

“No chance at all, it’s a ruse of Hildegund to make Volstagg spend more time at home.”

Tony chuckled. “How long have they been married?”

“Oh they…” Loki thought for a moment and then got wistful. “Shortly after Sigyn died. It was not Volstagg but her, that asked me to attend the ceremony. I declined and she did not judge me for it.”

Tony softly kissed Loki’s cheek and then ushered him to sit again. “We’ll get this wrapped up soon, handing it over to S.H.I.E.L.D. and then we can go home, sweetheart.”

“Yes.” Loki nodded and then looked over to where James and Sam were talking silently, before Clint dropped into the seat next to him.

“We get to have you in person again?”

“As long as I can hope for.”

“Where are the others?”

“Already at the mansion”, Loki told him, before leaning his heavy head onto Clint’s shoulder.

“Are you worried?”, Clint asked in a whisper, most of the team having stepped away again, though they could both see Nat and Tony hovering nearby.

“About which part?”

“Your children.”

“Only the unborn at the moment.”

“The case then?”

“It’s not the most worrying, but the only thing I can actually anticipate.”

“We’ll all be there.”

“I know. The world knows this as well, so I have to ask some of you to step away.”

“Will you be protected?”

“Narfi will be there. And some of you.”

“Will I?”

Loki sighed. “You, Nat, Tony, James, the others… we cannot spare”

“We have to show a united front”, Nat told them, stepping closer.

“But what if anything happens?”

“We’ll ask Xavier to keep an eye on the tower, he’ll be prepared to take over, if anything should happen. Kurt will stay with the children, maybe even Logan, Loki, we gotta stand together on this.”

“You make it sound so easy.”

“That’s because it’s an easy decision”, Nat told him, “We have your back, we support you and we’ll show the world that we do.

Loki sighed and then laid his heavy head back. “This case will be hard. I don’t want you all to know what happened to me. Least of all my own son.”

“It will be hard to talk about, sweetheart”, Tony told him, “but it will be enlightening. To everyone around us at least. We all know why you fight, but they have yet to know.”

“They don’t wish to know.”

“They will realise that once you tell your story. And they’ll be sorry they ever asked. The Council will get severe backlash from it, I promise you that.”


	32. Judge and Jury

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Loki goes to court... Finally 😅

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to go back to Act 1, chapter 4 for this... and noticed a few mistakes (just spelling)  
> BTW, I've never gone to court, so my knowledge is basically TV shows and it's been a while since I've watched anything lawyer related...

It took another two weeks for Loki to finally go to court. The courtroom was packed, mostly with the members of the World Security Council, some officials of S.H.I.E.L.D., a few politicians and the Avengers. Narfi pressed Loki’s hand reassuringly, Váli and Sleipnir had wanted to come as well, but were better suited at protecting Runa, as they remained at Xavier’s School for the day.

When Loki was called to stand, Thor had yet to arrive, but he knew that his brother and any he might bring were given special permission to enter late. Loki did not have to answer many questions, thankfully that had been sorted out beforehand.

“So, Loki you remembered not all at once but in parts, correct?”, the judge asked.

“Yes, your Honour”, Loki told her with a nod.

“Alright. Can you tell us about the first thing you wrote about your past?”

Loki nodded again. “Yes, your Honour.” He opened his journal with a small intake of breath. It was different, reading from a journal, rather than saying the words like he just experienced them.

“May 10, 2012”, he started, “‘I know a lot now. I can feel it, every time I close my eyes. The blood leaving my body, the bones crushing, the slashes on my body, the knives, the hammers, I hate it, when I think about the hammers.’”

Loki took a breath and licked his lips, before continuing: “‘They didn’t let me recover long. But while I did, while I healed, they rammed themselves in me.’” Loki shuddered, his eyes finding focus while searching the Avengers’ faces and landing on Tony’s. “‘I bled, more than once…’” Loki stopped and bit his lip, reading the next few words on the page, not wanting to speak them. He searched for Hill’s eyes and tears pricked his own, before he broke through his inner conflict, speaking the next few words: “‘and then they had found the female part.’”

A sharp breath could be heard through the courtroom and he heard a few people jump to their feet, as he focused on the journal again, reading out loud: “‘They pushed things in there, in all my openings and then they just laughed.’” Now he had to change a few parts from his journal. “‘He asked me again and again, if I was ready yet, I don’t know if I ever asked for what.’”

“Stop”, the judge told him, and Loki looked up in surprise. “Who is ‘He’?”

“That is classified, your honour”, Loki spoke and found Hill’s face again, who nodded sharply.

“Continue then”, the judge decided, and Loki took a moment to find the next line in his journal.

“‘The Other gave me the Sceptre. Of course, He could not be bothered to even get up. He just stared and watched. I don’t think He even commented. He and the Other talked. I wasn’t allowed to hear, I couldn’t even, over my bones breaking.’”

The door swung open then and Thor marched in, followed by Sif and a green lady. A green lady, Loki had not thought to put in his journal, as he only had seen her once and she had not laid hands on him. Behind them were a few others, along with Hogun and Volstagg, one looking around interested.

“Stop this at once”, Thor commanded and the Avengers were already on their feet.

“Your honour, if I may talk with my brother for just a moment?”

The judge already looked like she had enough and sighed, before nodding. “You may be granted a chance to regroup, ten minutes.”

“Thank you, your honour”, Loki answered hastily, before leaving his journal where he had spoken from and stepping down of the podium, nodding for the Avengers to follow him.

“Outside, _now_ ”, Loki growled at Thor and then rushed past him, eying the green lady for a moment, before getting actually confused at the small tree that sat on a racoon’s shoulder.

“Who are you”, Loki growled, pointing at the group of assorted aliens, before settling on the humanoid. “Actually, scratch that, are you Peter Quill?”

“It’s Star Lord”, the guy said with an eye roll and Loki raised an eyebrow, before looking to the green woman.

“He is. And I’m Gamora.”

Loki locked eyes with Tony, before looking at her again. “We’ve been looking for you.”

“Hey, I thought you knew who I was, why is this about her all of the sudden?”, Quill wanted to know.

“I dreamt of you, well not you, but someone spoke your name. That you betrayed…”, Loki eyed the chambers, “ _Him_.”

“Yes”, she spoke after realising who Loki meant, “I have betrayed Him. Your brother said, you needed someone to confirm your story. My sister can’t be here at this time, she is looking for Him.”

“Blue?”, Loki asked, and she nodded.

“She has decided to step against Him as well.”

“Good. I need only you of your people here. The others shall be brought to our headquarters, they will be safe there. If that is alright with you.”

They looked at each other for a moment and Gamora then nodded, before Loki faced Peter.

“I would like to get you in contact with your grandfather, if that is alright with you.”

“My old man is still around?”, Quill asked, surprised.

“As of two weeks ago, yes. Now, I believe our ten minutes are almost up. Sif, Hogun, Volstagg, you are welcome at the headquarters as well.”

Loki looked to Rhodey, silently asking him to take over.

“Alright”, Rhodey said, “Nat, Tony and Narfi will stay here, the others are with me, good?”

“I’ll stay here as well”, Barnes told him, and Thor nodded respectively.

“Good with me, let’s move”, Rhodey told them and Loki looked to Gamora.

“His name shall not be said in court, the judge, the person in the weird outfit and with the small hammer, has to be addressed with ‘your honour’, so if you want to confirm something it’s ‘yes, your honour’, if you want to deny something it’s ‘no, your honour’, got it?”

She nodded sharply and then the crew followed them back in the room.

“Thank you, your honour”, Loki told the judge, before taking his place again, Gamora standing a bit sheepishly around until Narfi told her to sit with them.

“Continue your story then.”

Loki read through the next few parts of the journal. “I did not report anything that happened before I arrived on Earth on that day, your honour.”

“Then continue with another day.”

Loki read a little more and then nodded, as he found another usable paragraph. “May 13, 2012. ‘It was definitely longer than the almost two years that it officially was.’ Umm… ‘J.A.R.V.I.S. was able to tell me that Thor had been banished at the end of May 2010 and left on the 2nd of June.’ Oh, here… ‘He never talked about His plans. The Other told me, that I had to get the Tesseract and once the Chitauri would have defeated Earth, it would be mine to rule. I think he lied.’ Umm, there are more parts, confirming that I did not actually want to do what I was made to do, that I was scared of the Other and Him, but some of that stuff is classified, so I cannot read full paragraphs on that one, your honour.”

“Alright then, thank you, Mister Stark.”

Loki waited while she wrote something down and it was good that he did not step down yet.

“Who is the woman that was brought before court today?”

Narfi whispered something and Gamora nodded and stood. “Gamora, your honour”, Loki said, before she could open her mouth. “I am… not actually sure, do you have a translator implant, or do you need me or my son to translate for you?”

Surprised, Gamora looked between the two, obviously only now gathering they were father and son. “No, I have a translator implant”, she said and then added, towards the judge, “your honour.”

“Thank you. You may leave the stand, Mister Stark, and you may take his place, Madam.”

Gamora’s eye twitched but switched places with Loki without any fuss.

“What is your name, for the record?”

“Gamora, your honour.”

“No surname?”

“No, your honour.”

“Surely on your planet there are more than one Gamora.”

“No, your honour, I am the last Zehoberei.”

“Oh.” The judge seemed surprised by this. “Why are you here today, Gamora?”

“To corroborate Loki’s story.”

“And why can you do that, Gamora?”

“I was there. _He_ used to be my father, took me as His, before He murdered half my planet.”

Audible gasps go through the court, but Loki didn’t flinch. He had heard of the wrath of the Titan long before he had actually met him.

“Tell us, then, what happened.”

“Yes, your honour”, Gamora answered and then faced Loki, as if she was only telling the story for him, “I wasn’t there in the beginning, when they had found Loki in the Void. He had a different skin, when I first saw him, looking much more like his son than he does now, but I have been told since, that this skin is Loki’s natural.”

“That is unimportant”, the judge told her, and Loki could see Gamora’s fingers twitch. Oh, Nat and she would get along great.

“When I first saw him, he was naked except for a loincloth to protect the last of his privacy but allow for easy access by his captors. The Chitauri love experimenting with other beings and their markings on him were already a sign on their claim on him. _He_ does not take lovers, He gathers rare beings, much like another man I believe Loki and I have both come across. _He_ however does not put them in cages to be looked at like priced possessions, He makes them fighters. My siblings and I were His commanders, executing His word to a point. He had wanted to make Loki His child, but Loki was far too knowledgeable for his own good, he resisted too much.”

Loki rolled his eyes at that and saw Narfi smirk at his side.

“ _He_ would have Loki’s word though, and as He could not make Loki his own, not by persuasion, He would have his mind. And, after He found out his mutation, his body as well. If Loki could not be His, Loki would bear Him a child. Surely it would have been given to me or one of my sisters to nurture, as _He_ would have disposed of Loki once he fulfilled his use.”

At that Narfi grabbed Loki’s hand.

“The Chitauri played around with Loki a lot, from what I’ve heard, he was torn apart, limb by limb, to their amusement, to see if he would grow back together the way his body was supposed to look. I suspect that Loki’s mind left his body many times, before it was finally taken by the Sceptre.”

Loki could hear someone get up and move outside the courtroom, listening to the person running away, he suspected a bathroom, to throw up. He himself felt a bit nauseous as well, but he gulped it down.

“Thank you, Gamora, you may take a seat again”, the judge said and Gamora slinked back down, sliding next to Loki.

“Was that sufficient?”, she whispered.

“More than, I am in your debt I believe.”

“We would have visited Terra sooner or later, with the way Quill talks about it.”

“I thank you nonetheless”, Loki hushed, as they watched Hill and the members of the Council approach the bench, together with the respective lawyers.

“Politics”, Gamora hissed, “There are more efficient ways to get things done.”

“There are”, Loki agreed, “But this, Midgard, Earth, Terra, is a strange place and talking it out has proven more effective than wars. They had two massive ones in the past century alone, many still ongoing.”

“With which planets?”

“With themselves”, Loki told her, and they stared at each other for a moment.

“You cannot be serious.”

“This here, is not a matter across planets, it’s a matter on this planet. At the moment, I am bound to this planet, by word alone, they do not believe me having been controlled and those”, Loki nodded to the Council, “Would rather have me jailed than around and protecting their people. That’s the thanks I get for saving their lives. And only because it turned out that I married on of the leaders of the group I later joined.”

“I don’t understand those bindings”, Gamora answered.

“You have no need to”, Loki assured him, “Some of it is Earth politics as well. Two male or female beings have only recently been allowed to marry, and only on parts of the planet. On other parts, people get murdered, for even loving a person of the same gender.”

Gamora growled silently, as they watched the judge talk to the people in front of the podium, the Council seemingly upset at what was being said.

“What happened to the child?”, she then asked.

“It was taken out as soon as we found out. Upon removal of my conditioning I had forgotten my time in the Void.”

“Good”, Gamora answered, “You shouldn’t have to bear a child you did not want, an abomination.”

“I have born another since then though”, Loki whispered. “She’s my fourth and only daughter for the time being.”

“You like being a parent?”

“It’s a purpose”, Loki told her, “I like being with a partner, having a family, having a home.”

“I have a family”, she told him, “My home is with them.”

Loki smiled. “I am glad.”

“If I may have your attention”, the judge loudly said, before looking to Loki, “You may approach the bench as well, Loki Stark.”

Gamora got out of the bench, so Loki could move and approach the judge, Hill and Loki’s lawyers, Nelson, Murdock and Page at his right, the Council with their lawyers at his left.

“So, Mister Stark, ready to hear the results?”

“That’s what I’m here for, your honour”, Loki answered and then nodded.

“The main concern of the Council was, that they felt they had been cheated out of the deal.”

“I am not sure, why I needed to state the horrors of my capture then.”

“As to make sure, that you already paid enough for your crimes, that were inflicted on you, by barring your mind.”

Loki frowned and then looked to Director Hill, before his gaze wandered back to the judge. “Could you clarify what this means for me, your honour?”

“This means, you’ve been spoken free, Mister Stark.”

Loki stumbled a few steps backward, shocked and surprised. “W-What?”

“However, as a sign of good faith, they would like to ask you to stay on the Avengers Initiative and act as liaison with S.H.I.E.L.D., for at least two more years.”

“Liaison?”, Loki asked towards Hill, “Wouldn’t someone else be more suited?”

“I already spoke to every other candidate. The agents still have to go into the field and as you are already a passive Avenger, you can overlook the missions and report back to S.H.I.E.L.D. more easily”, Hill explained.

“Do you accept?”, the judge asked.

Loki stared at her as if she’d grown a second head and she smirked a little. “Yes, your honour”, Loki told her, a bit breathless.

“Dismissed, Agent Stark”, Hill told him, after the judge had put down her hammer, closing the case.

Loki turned to Nat, James, Tony, Narfi and Gamora, a bright smile on his face. He strutted to them and clasped Gamora’s forearm. “Thank you.”

She nodded curtly and Loki then grasped Narfi and pulled him close, planting a kiss on his forehead, before whispering to Tony: “It’s over.”

Tony smirked. “Let’s go home then, Mister Stark, we got something to celebrate.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Were you surprised by the appearance of the mystery characters?


	33. Thanks for saving the Galaxy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A huge chapter 😄😅

When Loki and the others got back to the tower, things looked like something had exploded. Gamora groaned instantly, as she quickly saw, that this was _her_ teams doing. The racoon was ripping out cables and threatening everyone that tried to stop him with a gun and the little tree was saying “I am Groot” to every plant in the room, seemingly introducing himself to them.

The burly guy and the girl with the antennas apparently tried bouncy testing every surface in the area and Quill was shouting at the ceiling that J.A.R.V.I.S. couldn’t _possibly_ play millions of songs. The only guy from the newly arrived not saying anything looked forlorn around, as if he was as lost as the Avengers.

Gamora was about to say something, when Loki felt himself moving and a sharp whistle escaped his mouth, bringing everything to a standstill in a moment, even the Avengers seemed a little scared, but that might have been because of the frost forming around Loki’s hands.

“You two”, Loki pointed at the antenna girl and the burly guy, “stop bouncing and sit still for just a moment, you are not children.”

“You”, Loki pointed to the racoon, “You are a guest, stop ripping everything apart. If you need something, ask. And you, Quill, I know this might be a shock to you, but Earth evolves. J.A.R.V.I.S., make him an ‘80s playlist.”

Loki looked to the tree. “I am Groot?”

“No, I got nothing to say to you, you’ve been a perfect gentleman, the plants here just don’t have the ability to talk.”

“I am Groot?”, the tree asked again.

“They’ve never learned how to speak and don’t have any voice bands. I am sorry. You can try talking to cats and dogs though, they might answer you, but try growing a little more, before you do, they might see you as a toy and snack otherwise.”

“I am Groot.”

“And I am Loki, welcome to Earth.”

He looked around the room and into a bunch of stunned faces, only Thor seemed not surprised.

“You can understand him too?”, Quill asked.

“Thor and I are brothers.”

“Wouldn’t have picked you two as siblings”, the racoon said, having dropped all cables on the floor.

“Adopted”, Loki said, pointing at himself. “Now, please everybody, take a seat, we got a few things to talk about. Groot, this is a grown-up talk, if you want to step out with my sons and daughter, you are welcome to.”

“No way Groot is leaving our side”, the racoon protested.

“Fine then”, Loki said and pointed to the couches, “Take a seat everyone.”

Groot jumped down from the table and then climbed Gamora’s leg, as she sat down on a couch, next to the other people on their team. The Avengers seemed to find seats on various armchairs and other couches, while Sif, Hogun and Volstagg sat together on one couch that was decidedly too small for them, still somehow eying Váli and Narfi, who had reserved a couch for all of the children of Loki, swiftly making space for Tony, when the man found himself looking around.

“First of all”, Loki started, sitting down on an armchair, letting Clint perch on it behind him, “thank you all for coming. Gamora’s testimony has been very helpful. I’ve been spoken free of all charges.”

The Avengers cheered and Loki smiled a little.

“Now, J.A.R.V.I.S. would you mind bringing projections up, to reveal everyone’s name so we don’t have to ask every time? First names only.”

“Very well, Master Stark.”

The holograms went up and the antenna girl immediately said: “shiny”, while poking through the yet empty hologram in front of herself.

At the other side of the room, Loki could see the Asgardians, save for Thor flinching, when they read Váli’s and Narfi’s names.

“Now then”, Loki said and smiled at the new aliens, “Please introduce yourselves.”

“I’m Peter”, Quill said, “Originally from Missouri, part of the Guardians of the Galaxy.”

“The who?”, Tony immediately wanted to know, and the feeling seemed mutual.

“The Guardians of the Galaxy, we saved the Galaxy, _twice_ ”, the racoon said, “I’m Rocket.”

“News from space doesn’t travel as quickly to Earth, or Terra as you might know it. The planet has yet to invent interplanetary travel.”

“That sounds lonely”, the girl said and then introduced herself: “I’m Mantis, you all seem very happy.”

“I’m Drax”, the burly man introduced himself.

“Kraglin”, the skinny man said, “Not a member, just temporarily sticking around, Ravager.”

“The Ravagers are mighty warriors”, Thor announced, “Although they only work for coin.”

“They are mercenaries”, Loki amended and then smiled at Kraglin, “Though they do have honour, nice to have you with us.”

“Nice to be here”, Kraglin answered, a small smile on his face.

“And I’m Gamora”, Gamora introduced herself.

“Daughter of Thanos”, Loki added, and an uproar went through the Avengers and he growled at them: “she’s _not_ affiliated with him anymore.”

“I am Groot”, Groot announced and waved, Loki’s children seemingly awed by him and all waving back.

“Well, we gotta talk about Thanos”, Loki said, leaning back in the armchair.

“For one, what’s the bastard’s plan?”, Tony wanted to know.

“To wipe out half the universe”, Gamora conveyed and a shockwave seemed to go through the room, seemingly even surprising her teammates.

“We stopped him from getting the Power Stone”, Quill said, “Like we said, saving the Galaxy.”

“So all that’s missing is the Soul Stone”, Loki whispered and Gamora looked a little confused.

“You were given the Sceptre.”

“With the Mind Stone, to gather the Tesseract, which contains the Space Stone.”

“You know where the others are?”

“The knowledge is best kept locked away, with the least amount of people knowing where they are.”

“True.”

“Do you know where the Soul Stone resides?”, Loki asked her.

“I was tasked in finding it”, she answered instead, and Loki nodded.

“Good. Keep your family close, so he can never get the knowledge from you. And make sure to protect the Power Stone. Does he have a way to combine them yet?”

“He spoke of a gauntlet he had planned to wear.”

“But he has yet to get it”, Loki concluded.

“As far as I know. What of the other stones?”, Gamora asked Loki.

“Reality I will never tell, Space will be protected by Thor and his shield-mates, Time is of no worry to any of you and Mind… well, we’re pretty sure it remains on Terra and the Avengers are keeping an eye open.”

“It’s a horrifying weapon, the Sceptre”, Gamora told him.

“That it is. I wish it locked away, where it can never reach any other person.”

“How did you escape after finding the Reality Stone? I hear it speaks to anyone near it, trying to convince them to take it, driving them into insanity.”

“I was deaf at the time”, Loki told her with a smile.

“Good for you.”

“Now, might we make something to eat, I’m sure we’ve all had a long day and you wish to replenish.”

“That would be great”, Quill announced.

“Oh yes, I almost forget, Quill, would you mind following me for a moment? We have to make a call. Oh, and Tony, Rocket, you should get acquainted, maybe you can build a way to communicate through space even from this Earth-junk. Rhodey, I’ll expect you to act as a translator between the two, so they’ll stay focused.”

“I’ll be following you”, Clint hissed in Loki’s ear and Loki nodded to confirm.

“We’ll be making food”, Sleipnir announced and James was immediately on his feet.

“I’ll be watching over them”, he said, his voice conveying he was afraid they might blow up the kitchen.

“I’m going to follow”, Sam announced and on the couch of the Guardians, Mantis jumped up.

“Can I watch too? Humans are so odd.”

“They are one half Jötunn, other half Æsir, no part Human in them”, Loki informed her and then nodded for Quill to get up.

Before they left the room, he could hear Nat ask Gamora if she wanted to spar and in turn Clint announce, behind them: “Aw, Nat, no.”

Quill frowned at Clint.

“He’s disappointed, he will not see Natasha and Gamora spar as he is following us around”, Loki explained.

“Why’s he coming with us anyway?”

Loki chuckled. “They are all a bit worried with me being pregnant. That reminds me…”

Loki pressed on his bracelet and deactivated the glamour.

“Fuck, you’re huge.”

“Twins”, Loki answered with a grin. “Saw the kids? All mine.”

“Shit. I thought you were a guy.”

“Jötunn, Frost Giant, got both. Yeah, most times I fall back on male, because I was raised that way, but I could just as well feel feminine, now that I know, that it’s not just a weird quirk of mine, but actually in my nature.”

“Crazy.”

“Did you not notice that the non-Humans outnumbered the Humans in that room?”

“There are some that looked very Human.”

“I was surprised that all of you got a translator implant.”

“I got it when I was a kid”, Quill explained, “The others… Gamora was trained in a lot of languages, but we got paid a whole lot when we saved the galaxy, so we could afford them for the rest of the team.”

“You seem oddly protective of each other”, Loki noted.

“We’re family. Though Mantis is kinda new.”

“Really?”

“Yes…” Quill coughed, seemingly not wanting to elaborate, and Loki showed him into the office, leading him to sit on a chair. He pressed a few keys and then attempting a call to Quill’s grandfather, noting Clint had disappeared into the vents at some point.

“Is this thing on?”, they could hear the older man say, before the picture actually plopped open and he blinked at the screen, Peter now on his feet, next to Loki.

“Gramps?”, Peter asked, and the man looked a little confused into the camera.

“Is that my little Peter?”, he then asked, and quickly teared up.

“Yes, Mister Quill, we found your grandson.”

“Hi… Gramps”, Peter said again and was suddenly emotional.

“Peter. Umm, how’ve you been?”

Peter chuckled and when Loki went to leave the room, he grasped his wrist softly. “Please don’t go.”

“Sure thing”, Loki told him and laid his arm on Peter’s back as the man took a shaky breath.

“I’ve been… I don’t know, it’s crazy, gramps. But I found him, my father. He was a total arse.”

Peter’s grandfather laughed at that. “So whatcha do?”

“Kicked his arse?”, Peter replied a bit sheepishly.

“I’m proud of you, boy.”

Peter smiled softly. “It’s umm… it’s good to know you’re still around. And umm… sorry for being such a shitty kid.”

“Hey, nothing of that, you had it hard. Still got that Walkman?”

“That bastard destroyed it.”

Peter’s grandfather didn’t seem too happy with that. “Where’s that asshole? Your Ma gave you that!”

Peter chuckled at that, “He doesn’t exist anymore, don’t worry.”

“What do you mean?”, Loki asked quietly, a soft frown on his face.

“He was a celestial; we blew him up. Lost one of our own because of it”, Peter explained to him.

“That wouldn’t have been two weeks ago, would it?”

“Yeah, why?”

Loki got his phone out and quickly showed him the picture of the big blue blob in Missouri. “That wouldn’t have anything to do with it, would it?”

“Shit. Did people die?”

“Yes.”

“Fuck”, Peter cursed and then turned to his grandfather. “Were you there?”, he asked.

“Barely escaped it”, the man told him, “Met Loki the same day.”

“I almost killed my own grandfather”, Peter breathed and sank down onto the ground.

Loki was quickly kneeling next to him. “It’s not your fault.”

“You don’t know that. It was only because of me that he _could_ do that.”

“But were you the one that planted the seeds? Were you the one that planned that?”

“No.”

“See, then this isn’t on you, Quill.”

“But I still went with him.”

“Do you know how many times I followed my father into doing stupid stuff?”

“You seem to be doing alright for yourself.”

“Almost nobody is as put-together as they appear.”

Loki breathed heavily and then tried to get back on his feet, cursing. Swiftly Clint and Peter were both there and got the man to stand again, before the Frost Giant sank into the armchair.

“So…” Peter smiled at his grandfather. “When can I see you?”

“My door’s always open for you, squirt, wanna hear all about your adventures, so just come on by, hopefully before I’m not here anymore.”

“Will do gramps. Umm, maybe in a few days, we, umm… have to right everything here and I… yeah, a few days, a week maximum, really wanna come over.”

“Sure thing. I’ll see you then.”

Clint ended the call for Quill and then went to kneel in front of Loki. “Everything alright?”, the archer asked.

“Kicking again and damn they are heavy. The guise also took the pain away I would have felt, so…”

“Need anything?”

“Maybe some waffles? But the kids should make some real food first.”

“Let’s go, hey, Quill, help me out here.”

Peter nodded quickly and together they helped Loki up, bringing him back to the common room, letting him lean on them a little.

“One pregnant alien reporting in, requesting waffles”, Clint shouted towards the kitchen, and there was a cheer heard, as they sat Loki down into his special armchair, that would help him up again.

“You look fat”, Drax commented, and before Clint could go off at him, Loki started chuckling.

“I _am_ very fat”, he then told Drax, “I am carrying twin babies.”

“Where are they?”, Mantis requested gleefully, her eyes shining with such innocence that made Loki smile.

“Inside my body, they are not born yet”, Loki explained.

“Oh, how exciting”, Mantis told him and then approached him, holding out her hand, “May I?”

“Sure”, Loki answered, but instead of putting her hand on Loki’s belly, she put it on Loki’s shoulder.

“Oh, they make you happy, so happy, make you feel loved, what a beautiful feeling.”

Entranced, Loki looked at her. “What a fascinating being you are, Mantis.”

“You are fascinating as well”, she answered, not taking the comment as an insult, but rather a compliment. Loki smiled softly.

“You have a very wonderful power, Mantis, is it born into or is it learned?”

“I’ve always had it”, Mantis replied.

“My youngest”, Loki nodded to the kitchen, “The girl, the little one, she has something similar, but it’s learned. I have an energy in me, called Seiðr, it can grant me powers. But the only one I’ve been born with and in turn also my children, is creating ice. She can read emotions, but not portray them, not share them like you, Mantis.”

“Fascinating”, Mantis answered, her dark eyes, seemingly even darker and her antennas glowing brightly.

Loki took Mantis hand softly and nodded to his belly. “Do you wish to feel them kick?”

Mantis kneeled in front of them. “I am deeply fascinated by you humanoids, I was not born this way, not fully formed inside a body, you care much more deeply for the development before your children are formed.”

Loki chuckled and watched with careful eyes as she laid her hands on his rounded form. “It’s not something we can control, Mantis, I guess it’s in our biology.”

“I don’t get all the connecting parts. Ego tried explaining it once, how he made his children.” She wrinkled her nose, “It was disgusting.”

“I can understand how you think that. It is not for everyone, and especially not for a young flower as yourself.”

“Flower?”, Mantis asked curious.

“A nice being to look at, but entirely different from ourselves. You and Groot have a deeply different eye on sexuality than your other team members, if any. People like looking at you, find you interesting, but they might never find they love you in an intimate sense. But they will still love you in a sense that they care for you.”

“But I am not beautiful, Drax said so. I’m ugly. And if you love ugly things you know they love you truly.”

For a moment, Loki frowned, watching Drax, but then he sensed the care Drax had for Mantis, wanting to teach her the universe in an acceptable manner. Ego must have been a bad influence on Mantis.

“It’s true, when someone is ugly that others that love them, have a deeper care. The most important thing is to distinguish between the outside and the inside, sweet child, if you’re ugly on the inside, most do not deserve the love, but if you’re beautiful inside and ugly outside, all the love you’re swarmed with, shows how much they truly care for you.”

Mantis giggled and Loki looked at Drax again, who nodded stiffly. Softly Loki smiled down at Mantis and carded a hand through her hair carefully.

“Ego was ugly on the inside”, she decided, “He took and took and took and never gave.”

For a moment, Loki was worried for her, then he asked: “And what did you do?”

“I served.”

Loki frowned and then let the conversation fall, as the waffles arrived. “Sit, Mantis, and have a bite”, Loki offered and held out a piece of waffle to her, before eating the rest himself.

“It’s fluffy”, Mantis exclaimed, excited.

“It is”, Loki answered, “It’s one of Earth’s delicacies.”

“So yummy.”

“I’m glad you like it. Drax would you like a piece?”

The burly man nodded and Loki offered him a piece, before looking at Kraglin, holding another piece out towards him.

“Thanks”, the man said and bit into the waffle, before looking surprised as he chewed. “This is surprisingly tasty”, he told them and Drax nodded in agreement.

“So, what brings the Guardians and the Ravagers together?”, Loki asked.

“Quill was a Ravager, lots of stuff happened, now I’m the only Ravager of my clan.”

“Is that why you’re so lonely?”

“I’m not…”

“Yes, you are”, Mantis protested.

“We only lost Yondu two weeks ago”, Quill silently told Loki and Loki nodded in understanding.

“It must be hard. But the Guardians surely won’t leave you until you have your footing and a new clan, or new members in your clan. You’ll make a great Captain one day.”

“He was First Mate for a long time”, Quill told him.

“And you seem very passionate, determined”, Loki told Kraglin.

Tears appeared on the others face. “Th-thank you.”

“Oh, it’s of no worry, Kraglin. Just sharing a bit of love.”

“Because he’s ugly?”, Mantis asked, excited and Loki chuckled.

“But only ugly on the outside.”

“That was kind of you”, Quill told him, later, “I know we’re all a little screwed up, thrown together, but it’s not often people have nice things to say.”

“You might be a very mixed group, Peter, but that does not mean you don’t deserve a little kindness.”

“All of you seem so put-together.”

“We’re really not”, Loki told him with a smile, “Our group went through a lot, as I’m sure yours did as well.”

“We just lost a good friend of ours.”

“It’s always hard to lose people. Everyone of our group has lost something or someone. Whether it was family, or it was friends. Whether it was a body part, the mind, time, we have seemed to have lost a lot in these trying times.”

“What did you lose?”

“Besides my mind?”, Loki asked. “I lost a lot of time. You saw the twins? Narfi and Váli?”

“Connected by the hip basically?”

“Yes. Six centuries ago, I lost them. My mother hid them in safety not telling me. My wife was killed at the same time. I lost hope, convinced myself they never existed, I could not stand the hurt they brought me. And still, the All-Father took and took and took from me. You might see Sleipnir smiling, but he was actually born in the form of a foal, I am a shapeshifter, you see. He might smile now, but for most of his mind, he was not at my side and not in the form he’s in at the moment. Even Runa, my youngest, has a slightly tragic story. Had I not had her; I would have surely born the babe of another tormentor. Instead, she’s the light in the middle of the darkness surrounding me.”

Quill shook his head. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. You might be the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’, but you can’t save us from everything. You can probably save us from galaxy-wide threats like Ego, but you cannot save us from every little detail. You’re not responsible for the hurt on every planet. The Avengers take care of Earth. Thor tries to take care of Asgard, so take care of your own place.”

Quill chuckled. “You seem so wise.”

“Takes years of practice”, Loki told him with a grin.

“How many years?”

“A few centuries or so?”

“That’s a lot.”

“Well, being a God takes practice.”

“A God?”, Quill asked confused.

“Thor and I are considered Gods here on Earth. Him the mighty God of Thunder, me the God of Chaos.”

“Strange.”

“We’re not immortal though, having a much longer lifespan makes people think of us like Gods.”

“So what _can_ you do?”

“Oh several things. Like, according to myths, have way too many children.”

Peter laughed loudly at that and clapped Loki on his shoulder. “You’re alright, for a God.”

“You’re alright, as well, for the son of the Celestial.”

“Well, I got no powers from him anymore, since we killed that bastard’s arse.”

“Is this the man that Mantis called Ego?”

“He really had one. Like a _really_ huge brain, we had to blow him up.”

“That’s celestials for you”, Loki told him with a slightly impressed nod.

“Ever met one?”

“I’ve kept my distance. Most aren’t the friendliest folk.”

Two weeks later, the Guardians were supposed to be on their way again. They had stayed till Thanksgiving, had helped out on two smaller mission which had gone almost to Hel due to their involvement. Rocket was vital in helping establish inter-galaxy communications. It would not only be used to check in and inform between the teams, but for Quill to be able to call his grandfather every now and then.

The world had reacted _odd_ towards the arrival of several more aliens, but the throwback hadn’t been all bad, as with the help on the missions, it had been established, that the aliens wanted to do good. There also had been several protests relating to Loki’s apparent freedom. This had led to a lot of confusion within the Guardians, deciding to call Humans stupid.

They now sat around a huge table, Thor sadly missing in person, but on call thanks to Rocket’s and Tony’s achievements. It was the Guardians last night on Earth, tomorrow they would leave again.

“Let me just say on behalf of Earth”, Steve said, and most at the table already rolled their eyes, “Thank you for saving the Galaxy.”

“Why thank you”, Rocket answered with a wide grin.

“You’re supposed to say, ‘You’re welcome’ and move on”, Loki told him, but a smirk on his face told the smaller inventor, that he wasn’t entirely serious.

“You’re welcome”, Mantis chimed happily.

“You were not even there for most of the galaxy saving”, Rocket told her and Gamora rolled her eyes quietly, though only a few people at the table could see it.

“Anyway, we are very glad you made sure we would all still exist, we do have to talk about the elephant in the room though.”

“What’s an elephant?”, Drax asked and as if prompted, J.A.R.V.I.S. immediately showed him a picture, which Drax momentarily studied before looking around the room. “I don’t see it; has it been turned invisible?”

“It’s an idiom”, Loki told him.

“Who’s an idiot?”, Rocket squeaked.

“I am Groot.”

“No, I’m not, they are all.”

“I _am_ Groot.”

Rocket stared at Groot. “Fine. Whatever stupid words mean.”

“We have to talk about Thanos”, Tony said with a grunt.

Loki nodded towards his husband, “Or more about what we will, or _can_ do about him.”

“He doesn’t have any Infinity Stones at the moment”, Gamora said.

“And that is to our advantage. He also does not yet have the gauntlet, so while we have to keep people with certain information safe, we also have to find out how he plans on getting the gauntlet. We have to prevent Thanos from getting the Gauntlet, agreed?”, Loki asked towards the Guardians. The Avengers already had agreed on similar things beforehand and Loki did not believe any would have a different opinion now.

“Agreed”, Gamora instantly said and looked over to rest of the Guardians, daring them to disagree.

Quill gulped. “Agreed.”

“Sure thing. Would that make us three-time Galaxy savers?”

Loki rolled his eyes. “Sooner or later I will make you a shirt with pins on it, marking every time you saved the galaxy”, Loki told him.

“Can it be in multiple colours?”, Mantis asked excited.

“It sure can”, Loki told her, a bit less sarcastic, he was oddly fond of the girl, as innocent as she seemed.

“What will we do about protecting the people that have sensitive information?”, Gamora asked.

Loki held out a bracelet towards her. “It will help me teleport towards you. It’s the only one of its kind, the others we have only work on the same planet. This will work across the galaxy. A trip back and forth will drain me significantly though, so you better be ready with whoever or whatever you choose to take, before you call me, I will only arrive, grab whatever I can of you and then drag you back to wherever Tony is, he can call me with a different method. It’s already been tested.”

“Why don’t you just use the same method with me?”, Gamora asked.

“Because maintaining a bond, whether physical or mental will drain me steadily. Which is why, once I knew my case was solved, I broke all mental bonds with anyone except Tony. If I would go on a trip across space, I would be bonded to my closest companion, most times Thor, and someone on Earth, near my family, Tony.”

With a slow nod, Gamora accepted the circumstances.

“Keep the bracelet in a place it cannot be easily found. You must only focus on it, when you call me, and speak my name. It should be able to figure out intent to call. I cannot teleport for a while until and after the twins are born, so I really hope you will not get in any huge trouble in that time.”

“We will try”, Gamora told him, before pocketing the bracelet.


	34. Surprise

Nowadays, Loki was travelling to S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters once a week, most times accompanied by Nat or Clint, on occasion Steve. It was slowly becoming a routine, but that was Hill’s intent. Loki was taking the job as liaison very serious and it seemed everybody else on the team had accepted it as well.

Loki was definitely not team leader, thank the Norns for that, he gladly left that to Rhodey. The Chaos-God in control would not do, Loki had quickly decided and when Rhodey had attempted a conversation about that, Loki had quickly shut it down, saying pretending to be sane at S.H.I.E.L.D. was as far as he would go.

The agents at S.H.I.E.L.D. still looked angrily at him, none even acknowledged, that because of Loki’s handling they still had their jobs or were alive. Hill was still trying to obtain contact with cells that had gone underground, but apparently, they all thought S.H.I.E.L.D. was now HYDRA, which definitely did not make things any better.

They did stay in contact with Coulson though, so at least that was good. Coulson knew not to speak of Hill’s half of S.H.I.E.L.D., saying as long as the agents were in hiding, it was best that they were in hiding from both S.H.I.E.L.D. _and_ HYDRA. If things would get dicey though, they were always prepared to convert the underground S.H.I.E.L.D. out in the open again, as well as the other way around.

“Agent Stark”, Hill greeted with a smile, “You seem well.”

“You as well, Director Hill, thank you.”

Loki nodded to the Director and then stepped into the office, closing it neatly behind himself.

“The agents seem oddly gloomy”, Loki noted.

“It’s been almost a year since HYDRA.”

“Shouldn’t they be happy then?”

“We still haven’t defeated them, for some it feels like a personal failure.”

“They are hiding just as your own agents, what would you expect, what would you like more? Wars on open streets? We haven’t heard much, and James’ intel is slowly running out.”

“We have other people on the case, looking for more HYDRA bases”, Hill answered him, but didn’t seem any more gleeful.

“Have the inmates been talking?”

“No, not really. And James won’t go in to force it out of them.”

“They really wouldn’t break anyway; they’ve been trained just as much as any of the agents at S.H.I.E.L.D., if not more.”

Hill sighed at that and then handed Loki a few files. “These are a few places that we want scouted out, maybe use some people with guises to be safe.”

Loki opened the files and nodded, as he read the locations, before closing it and using a charm to put it in his dimensional pocket.

“Anything else?”

“No. Which week are you in now?”

“35th, according to Sleipnir, I think we miscalculated a little with November.”

“Maybe you were hopeful.”

“Well, now I’m hoping they get out before the new year.”

“Exhausted?”

“They are darn heavy, and I feel absolutely useless, sitting down every five minutes. Look.”

Loki stood and then pressed two hidden points on his stretchy jeans, before softly sitting down in mid-air.

“Tony made sure I could sit _every_ where. Every time I use it, I get freaked out, even if my kids enchanted it, so I would never fall with it on.”

“I think he’s getting very bored.”

“I think he’s trying to be useful as well.”

“He declined to go on any jobs ever since you came back, unless it’s in the city.”

“I _know_. He wants to be sure that he’s there when the twins come. The only thing he does is run to the next store when I get a craving for something that isn’t in the tower. I got a craving for coconut and no New York store seemed to have it, so what did he do? He flew away, with his darn suit and just plucked one off of a tree somewhere.”

Hill smirked at that, the equivalent to laughing. She couldn’t be heard laughing, after all, she was the damn Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., she had to maintain posture. “Sounds like a great husband to me.”

“It’s ridiculous. Sleipnir offered to just teleport there, but he said something wild about him having to provide and they should protect.”

“Then I think he’s going crazy as well.”

Loki took a deep breath and stood up again, disengaging the device. “I think we’ll need a bit of alone-time once the children are here. And I really want to go out again.”

“Narfi’s been doing a good job doubling for you.”

“But they should not have to, none, not even Narfi.”

“You truly miss it.”

“I do, Director, I miss it badly.”

“But you’re very compromised at the moment.”

“That is true.”

“And I am not your therapist.”

Loki chuckled. “True. I will leave you to your work, while I go down to the gym to see Nat and Clint beat a few agents into position.”

“Do that. And tell Clint that some of the agents have complained about _rats_ in the vents.”

“Have they actually seen the rats?”

“None could give me a picture, as they were gone before they could check.”

“I will tell him then.”

Loki nodded again and then left Hill’s office, making his way to the elevator and taking the ride down.

Exhausted already from the trip, Loki leaned against the wall of the gym. At the moment, Black Widow and Hawkeye were training together, some of the newer agents watching with precaution, the agents that have been with S.H.I.E.L.D. for a longer time, training without taking much notice. Black Widow and Hawkeye might have joined S.H.I.E.L.D. on different ways than most of them, but they still went through thorough training to get to be field agents.

After a few minutes, decidedly too slow, a few of the new agents flinched, as they noticed Loki. He hadn’t moved particularly silent, but apparently it was still too quiet for them. Loki didn’t bother sending them a smile. He might be the biggest threat in the room on a normal day, but not at this very second. Not with the lack of his Seiðr, not when it would take him a charm to even focus on a small spell like a guise.

‘Lo…’, Tony’s voice started in his head, but then cut out, Loki getting only a blink of a picture before him, before he himself crashed to the floor, his eyes open in a mix of surprise and shock.

Nat and Clint stopped training instantly and were at his side seconds later.

“Lo?”, Clint asked, worried, his eyes swiftly moving to Loki’s belly.

“Tony”, Loki gasped, before wheezing.

Nat made quick work of his suit, while Clint got to his feet and asked the agents to back off and then calling the tower, as it seemed. Nat got Loki stripped to his underwear in under thirty seconds, and if Loki wasn’t worried, he’d be slightly impressed. She made sure to leave his jewellery on, as that protected the other agents to see Loki’s pregnant belly.

“Tony’s out at the store”, Clint informed them, “Apparently wanting to get some Christmas shopping done without online shopping, that _idiot_. Steve and James are on the case, they are taking Váli to track him.”

Loki nodded weakly and then finally took a deep breath, shaking himself a little. Clint was there in a second, pulling Loki towards his chest, making sure he could still breathe as Nat checked his back.

“Any other pain?”, Nat asked.

“Painkillers”, Loki told her, with a shake of his head, and his fingers went to his bracelet, letting the pain back into his system. With a howl, he buried his face into Clint’s shoulder, almost attempting to bite him, but thankfully he could hold himself back.

“Shit”, Nat said, and if she thought it was bad, Loki did not even wish to look.

“Fuck, we need… we… shit Nat, what do we do?”

“We get Loki into a bed now, get Sam here so he’s protected and we’re taking the first trip out, got it?”, she commanded.

“Got it.” Clint and Nat heaved Loki up and a helpful agent picked up the clothing and handed it Clint, who nodded at him in appreciation, just a little thankful.

Swiftly they got Loki into an elevator and then went up, where Nat parted with them and Clint rushed Loki into the medical facilities.

“How did this happen?”, one of the doctors asked.

“It’s not happening to him. It’s happening to his Bonded, he just needs a bed, guards out front, entrance only to Avengers or the Director, good?”

“Yes, Sir”, the doctor told him, seemingly close to saluting and then helped get Loki into a single room, where they heaved Loki onto the bed.

Softly Clint pressed a kiss inside Loki’s hand and then put the sheet over him. “We’ll get him”, he promised, before turning to the doctor after putting Loki’s clothes down on a chair, “Nobody touches him, not even to help him dress, _especially_ not to help him dress. Food and drinks can be brought in. If anything happens to him that is not related to the bond it’s on your head, so don’t let him die.”

The doctor paled and then nodded stiffly again, before Clint rushed out the door. For a few seconds the doctor stood frozen in the room, before moving outside, closing the door behind him and shouting a few commands around. The pain was all over his body, but a lot was in the region of his chest and stomach. That toppled with the kicking of the babies was unbearable.

Loki could not tell how much time passed, while he laid there wincing and gasping, pressing his eyes closed, before the door opened again, to reveal Hill and Sam, both having a very concerned look on his face.

“Let me tell you one thing, I think the people will talk for a while about Black Widow crashing a session, shouting ‘Avengers emergency’.”

“Pillow Jail”, Loki weakly pressed out.

“No, I think this suffices as an emergency”, Hill told him, and Loki’s eyes teared up again, now a little less from pain, but more from being moved.

Softly Sam sat down on the side of the bed and then pulled the sheet down. Both he and Hill stared at Loki’s body in shock.

“Does it hurt?”, Sam whispered, and Loki nodded again.

A broken “Sammy” escaped Loki’s lips and Sam paled even more, swiftly taking off his shoes and then slipping into bed and holding Loki tight against him, just tight enough not to hurt.

“Food?”, Hill asked and Loki nodded softly, before pressing his face into Sam’s body.

“Shit, this is bad”, Sam whispered, after Hill left again.

“I want it to be over.”

“It will be alright. They’ll get him. And we’ll get you home and get you two in one room in the med bay at the tower.”

“Dad said they’re taking Váli.”

“And Váli will not stop until he found him, right?”

Loki nodded. “Wanna go home.”

Sam ran a soothing hand down Loki’s side and pressed a kiss to his temple. They laid like that for a while, Hill joining them on three separate occasions, always bringing food, but she still had to work as well, so she couldn’t stay with them.

Loki was half-asleep, when Clint and Nat came in, Nat dressing him carefully, before Clint and Sam helped him get to the Quinjet.

“Did you…”, Loki whispered, his eyes falling closed of exhaustion.

“They found the people that took Tony. He’s in the med bay. Sleipnir’s on his way, he was too afraid to teleport”, Clint informed him.

“Home”, Loki breathed, and Clint got him settled, before he and Nat went into the cockpit.

Loki barely remembered the flight, he nodded off a few times. The trip to med-bay was a buzz as well, he was easily lifted into a bed and only then, in the corner of his eye, he could see Tony’s sleep-closed eyes. A whimper escaped Loki and Váli settled into bed with Loki, cradling his head.

“He’s okay”, Váli whispered and Loki fell asleep to the soothing sounds.

Pain shook him awake again, hours later and like a mirror, Tony and he both shot into a sitting position, before looking at each other.

“Sirs, you’re in the tower, it’s 5:34 in the morning on December 7, 2014. Tony was attacked yesterday and was brought back around 11 o’clock last night, before Loki entered the tower with Agents Romanov and Barton, as well as Mister Wilson two hours later.”

“Lokes”, Tony whispered, and Loki whimpered. “Fuck, this _hurts_.”

Loki nodded and pressed a few tears free.

“Mister Wilson also noted that Loki, as he was in pain, had mentally reversed back to a child, though he had no apparent problem with being pregnant or having children.”

“Shit”, Tony cursed, “J.A.R.V.I.S., tell someone I need a new dose, or a dose of painkillers and Loki might need Clint. And I could really need someone to push our beds together.”

“I have already informed the team that you have both awoken and are both in pain.”

“Thanks, J.” Tony looked over to Loki. “Are you in any pain of your own, Loki?”

“Babies.”

Tony nodded. “Yeah, they’re kicking. Are you alright with them?”

Loki blushed softly and nodded then.

“That would have been difficult otherwise.”

“Hug”, Loki whispered, and Tony’s face got a complicated expression, between worry and fear, but before he could answer the door opened and in streamed the entire team.

Tony’s eyes found Clint, and the other seemed to understand without asking, slipping into Loki’s bed and holding him close, making sure, the babies weren’t laying too heavily on his bones.

“I need painkillers and to be closer to Loki”, Tony told the first thing towards Nat, the second towards James. Swiftly they all moved, as Steve helped Tony carefully off the bed, so James could move it.

For a moment Tony pressed his pain-stricken face into Steve’s shoulder, while Loki clung to Clint.

“I’m waking Sleip”, Sam decided and then moved out again.

“Why does it have to be this way?”, Tony whispered.

“It doesn’t _have_ to, Steve told him, “It isn’t _supposed_ to be this way. You’re supposed to be able to lead an easy life, without people attacking you.”

Carefully, Steve got Tony back on the bed and the two husbands immediately clasped hands, even though Loki was still embracing Clint.

“Wait. The kids are here?”, Tony asked, confused.

“Only Sleipnir stayed through the night. Váli was brought back to the mansion by Rhodey, after Loki fell asleep”, Steve caught Tony up.

“So Bruce and Rhodey are with the twins and Runa?”

“Exact”, Steve told him and Tony nodded accepting.

Then Nat entered and Tony chucked the super-soldier level painkiller, with a big glass of water. A few moments later, Sam and Sleipnir joined them and Sleipnir immediately activated Loki’s bracelet, that took his pain away.

“Sorry, Ma, I forgot.”

“It’s alright”, Loki whispered and Sleipnir got on the other side of Tony, immediately starting with the most hurtful bruises and cuts, that he hadn’t gotten to before Loki had fallen asleep and they did not want to disturb him.

“Be careful with your Seiðr”, Tony told him.

Softly Sleipnir grabbed his wrist and let the healing magic drown his pain. Tony gasped and then all the tension slipped from his body, as he sighed.

Sleipnir smiled and then cuddled against Tony’s side.

“Get him some chocolate”, Tony whispered and pressed a soft kiss to Sleipnir’s locks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *squints*  
> I don't remember writing this or what purpose it serves, except maybe making sure everyone knows where we're at in the timeline... 😅


	35. What a Gift

The twins were born on winter solstice. A Christmas miracle, everybody had called it. Loki would not leave them unattended for a moment. They were two girls, a little light, but still strong. Both had bright red eyes and dark brown hair. Lily and Violet, they were named and were only distinguishable by the small adjustable bracelets they wore, though Loki and his children swore they could differentiate between their auras.

Nobody even thought about celebrating Christmas until it was already December 25. The group staying at the tower this year was a little bigger. Sam, Nat and Clint still left, but Hill joined them, thankful for the invitation.

Because of his pregnancy, Loki had totally forgotten to get any presents and was pulling out small things he’d safed over the year, thinking of the person. Jane and Eric joined them shortly after Christmas as well, to Darcy’s joy, and possibly Bruce’s as well, though with Thor around the tower, he did not dare say so.

Loki’s sons had a lot of fun, creating snow around and in the tower, even though the media thought it was not so fun, thinking a snowstorm was approaching.

“They’re cute”, a voice said from the elevator and Loki was surprised for a moment, before his face lit up, as Harley skipped into the room, followed by his sister and mother.

“What are you doing here?”

“Tony invited us over the winter holidays”, Amanda explained, while Harley and Abby eyed the sleeping twins with a glow in their eyes.

“He had not told me.”

“He wanted it to be a surprise. You had to leave so early in the summer…”

Loki nodded, understanding, before looking at the youngsters and then introduced the twins in a whisper: “This here is Lily, and this is Violet.”

“They look so alike”, Abby breathed in awe.

“Yes.”

“They’re perfect”, Harley said, and Loki laid the two in their, for the time, shared crib. Harley hugged him tightly and Loki fell back on the couch with a small gasp, that fell into a small snicker, before Abby threw herself on Loki as well, the two Keener kids attaching themselves to him like monkeys.

Amanda giggled as well, before she stepped to the crib and watched the sleeping babies. “They are healthy?”, she wondered.

“A little small and light, but they are growing fast.”

“That’s good”, Amanda told Loki with a smile, “Get enough sleep?”

“Tony drags me to bed every now and then, the boys take over then.”

“Can I help, too?”, Harley asked excited.

“You may help them, yes, Junior”, Loki told him and gave him a kiss to the temple.

Harley smiled brightly and then got up, tugging Abby with them.

“Hot Chocolate?”, he asked.

“ _Warm_ , please”, Loki answered him and then waited for them to walk away, before patting the couch cushions and waiting till Amanda sat down. “How is it over there?”

“A little harder each year. The men…”

“Surely they do not try to suggest that you need a man to keep up your household.”

“They do. Some have good intentions, but now that Harley’s almost a grown man himself…”

“He really isn’t”, Loki told her, “And he’s not supposed to be, he grew up quickly without a father, but he should be able to be just a boy.”

“It’s good that he has Tony and you in his life.”

“Really?”, Loki asked surprised.

“I think it’s helped him be okay with more things. But as of the moment, I am just observin’.”

Loki frowned a little, before telling her: “Mothers sometimes know sooner than the children themselves.”

“I’m really glad he knows that whatever gender the partner is, whatever they look like, it’s okay to love them with all their hearts.”

Loki teared up softly and then smiled at her. “I think he did not only learn that from Tony and me, but from your open heart as well, you’ve shown him much more than the simple love another mother might give. You’ve shown him that family comes first. The Norns know _I_ learned that way too late in life.”

“But you still know it now.”

“Yes. But I am over a thousand years old, and I still haven’t learned from all my mistakes. I am so glad that I got as lucky as I did, that people were looking out for me. It could have all ended so much worse.”

“When Harley first told me, that he met Tony Stark, I thought he was imaginin’ him, that he put a man in the place of his disappeared father, one he could admire and strive to aim for their happiness. When Tony sent the stuff for the garage, I was so glad that he was actually real, that I didn’t _care_ who he was.”

“Tony still had a bad reputation back then.”

“I should have been scared he was just tryin’ to figure Harley out, but surprisingly I was not, and Tony quickly not only got in contact with Harley, but with me as well. The respect he had for me, just because I was a single mother, I was honestly surprised. People usually go into the different direction, that I couldn’t hold my man, but no, he supported me, said I was stronger than any other parent he had ever known, especially with a smart kid like Harley.”

“To keep someone like him not only entertained, but his mind working is a challenge.”

“I’m worried for him, his classes, they don’t challenge him enough and Rose Hill doesn’t have any other options.”

Loki looked a little bit perplexed at her. “You want him here?”

“We’re gonna run out of options sooner or later and he needs to be among kids his own age.”

Loki sighed. “Of course we’d take him, Amanda. But at the moment, if it’s not critical yet, we can’t guarantee we will be there full time. There are plans in place, and we _will_ go off world for at least one mission, I am sure, so I cannot promise that yet.”

“Just think about it.”

“I’ll do. And I’ll ask Tony to look into schools.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much, Loki.”

“It’s of no worries, Amanda, you’re a dear friend.”

“He’s not challenged enough?”, Tony asked, later that night and Loki nodded into his lover’s skin, exhausted. “I could give him challenges.”

“He will already be suspecting things without it. We can’t do anything until we’ve taken care of Thanos.”

“I’ll get him into a good school.”

“You can’t. He’ll have to do it himself. You can research, figure out good schools, but he has to be the one that inevitably asks. If it comes from us, he might think that Amanda is trying to get rid of him, even _I_ know that.”

“And I can’t even give him hints?”

“No sweetheart.”

“This is so…”

Loki sighed deeply and Tony hugged him a little tighter.

“He’ll be fine”, Tony promised, “He’ll survive, for now. And if he should ask, we tell him…?”

“To ask his mother. She is still his primary legal guardian, dear.”

“He should get challenged.”

“Not everybody can be sent to university at thirteen, dear. And not everybody _should_. He should be around children his age.”

“I get that. M.I.T. screwed with my head, because I was so much younger than the others.”

“But you got Rhodey out of it.”

“Thankfully.”

“We shouldn’t try to control his life.”

“No shit.”

“But we’re still adults”, Loki groaned.

“You’re fighting yourself, aren’t you?”, Tony asked with a short chuckle.

“I am. It’s confusing not knowing on which side I should be. Junior is our kid and I want to be on his side, but without asking him… I also have to be responsible”

“That’s the problem with being an adult.”

“Yeah.” Loki wrinkled his nose. “But it does have some advantages.”

“Like what?”

“Like not having to justify not living with one’s parents.”

“True that. Man, I wish I would have found the advantages of that sooner.”

Harley seemed to be having a lot of fun, hanging out with Loki’s sons again and Abby seemed pretty happy they did not exclude ‘little girls’ in their games. Though Harley’s smile grew much wider, when May, Ben and Peter joined them at the tower on New Year’s Eve. After last year’s disaster, the team had decided not to be in the public for big events anymore.

“ _That_ would be a reason for him to go to school here”, Tony hissed in Loki’s ear, as they watched Harley and Peter build a huge LEGO sculpture together.

“No meddling, dear.”

Tony rolled his eyes and went back to check for the fifth time in three minutes, that Váli and Narfi had not drowned the babies while washing them yet.

“So”, May asked, shoving Loki a little. “Any more in nine months?”

Loki paled. “Hopefully not.”

May laughed loudly at that.

“No, May, to be honest, I was excited to have them, I’m ecstatic they are here, but with the dangers looming over our heads, I couldn’t bear being pregnant again, at least until we’ve dealt with that. And I think Tony’s quite happy with six children to care for.”

“Seven”, May said, nodding to Harley.

“Eight”, Loki whispered, “We wouldn’t tear the kids apart. But they don’t know it yet, we hope we never have to tell them.”

“You always make plans for things that hopefully won’t happen.”

“Did Peter’s parents not do the same?”

“Their work was…”

“Dangerous, I know. Amanda’s might not be, but ours is. And Abby would be just as affected if anything happened to us, as Harley would be.”

“What are the plans on that? Letting things happen?”

“There are only plans on preventing things before they happen.”

“Usually one waits for the war to start, before working on counter-measures.”

“That sounds so much like Captain America. For your information, I have worked a long while on preventing things before they happen. It usually works in my favour.”

“When has it not?”

“Usually when it worked in the favour the All-Father dictated.”

“Oh, Lo.” May gave him a sad half-hug, before they went back to watching Peter and Harley apparently building New York. “I would almost bet this to be a King Kong or Godzilla re-enactment.”

Loki laughed at that. “Don’t give them ideas”, he told her, apparently loud enough for Harley to hear, as he narrowed his eyes at Loki.

“Don’t give who ideas?”

“Nobody, Junior.” Loki looked around. “I should make sure none of the others actually get the idea and get it magically animated”, Loki hissed towards May.

“Could that actually destroy things? It’s just magic.”

Loki laughed hysterically. “Yes, yes it could. It could destroy so many things. So many more movies to not make them watch.”

“What could a mini-Godzilla possibly do?”

“Have you _seen_ the movie?”

May chuckled. “But it would be so small.”

“Magic is powerful. And I am in no position to stop it at the moment. I already got asked to preserve my powers for some spells.”

“Sounds like the new year will be a lot of work.”

“That it definitely will. I have the feeling things will come crashing down as soon as I let go and enjoy my life again.”

“It can’t possibly be that bad.”

“The Norns have toyed with me for a long time. I don’t get that lucky. I don’t get my twin sons back, birth my other twins without problems and then just get to keep all that.”

“You were away for most of the summer, you had to go to court. At the beginning of this month, Tony got hurt so bad you both collapsed, and you shrunk back”, May reminded him.

“But the court case got solved, I brought families together and Tony and I were able to get married.”

“And people hated you for that as well. Loki, just because you had a stroke of luck this year, just because you weren’t critically ill, doesn’t mean that all that good will be taken from you. I’m really glad you see so much good, because other people see so much bad in the same time frame.”

“I guess, somewhere along the way, I became an optimist. Maybe it’s therapy.”

“Maybe it is. Or maybe it’s not being confronted by Asgard all the time.”

Loki’s head swung to where Tony and Loki’s twin sons entered the room, happily chatting, as they carried the exhausted twin girls. “I did get lucky, didn’t I?”

“I wouldn’t call it luck. And you should probably call it fate.”

Loki laughed at that and then watched as Tony spotted the model of New York.

“You know what we could do?”, Tony asked Harley and Peter as he got near.

“What?”, the two asked in chorus.

“Godzilla”, Tony answered, smirking. Harley’s mouth plopped open and Peter closed it with a small smile, while Loki bit back a groan.

“Váli?”, Harley asked.

“Yes, One?”

“We need you”, Harley told him with glistening eyes.

“No!”, Loki said loudly and looked at Váli, whispering in their home-language: “Please don’t.”

For a moment Váli seemed to consider his request, then he looked towards Tony and asked: “What’s a Godzilla?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! Not having to deal with a pregnant Trickster for a while...


	36. New Year, Old Problems

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> References to "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." Season 2, Episode 5 and 10

The new year started not all that exciting, with HYDRA. James and Loki sat it out and watched the others battle. Tony had opted to sit out too, but when the situation seemed to need another flyer, he was immediately on board.

It wasn’t an exciting mission thankfully, Loki didn’t want to part yet with the children, especially with Harley spending his last few days here. Váli and Sleipnir were determined to teach him at least one trick before he and his biological family left again.

For a moment it had seemed Harley had wanted to ask to stay in New York, but thankfully it had not come to that. Narfi in turn had found joy in teaching Abby how to be a real princess and not one of the Disney ones, but one actually having some power.

They even convinced J.A.R.V.I.S. to call not only Abby, but all of Loki’s children, adopted and biological, prince or princess. And if J.A.R.V.I.S. was especially snarky, he called Tony “Prince consort”. The first time that happened, it made everyone laugh at the ridiculousness of their lives. He also now opted to call Thor “Prince Thor” and on occasion, calling Loki “Prince Loki”, especially when people from S.H.I.E.L.D. or the Council were around. Or if people started even slightly disrespecting Loki. It was a great joy and Harley claimed it the first trick of the year.

Barely a week into the year, Coulson called Loki. At the time it had been a year since HYDRA took over and Loki was not the only Avenger a bit frustrated and exhausted over not having defeated HYDRA yet. But the Avengers did not seem like they were the only ones upset by the situation.

“Agent Stark”, Loki answered, closing the file.

“Loki.”

“Director Coulson”, Loki said back with a smirk and then added: “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Hill said, you can see the future.”

Loki chuckled. “Yes.”

“How?”

Loki frowned at that. “It was born into; I have no control…”

“I mean, when, how, what triggers it?”, Coulson pressed.

Loki leaned back in his chair with a sigh. “Usually it gets triggered when I meet people for the first time, when our paths intersect. Those are the future dreams and our paths have to intersect again so that I can get a vision of it.”

“Alright. You’re now officially, un-officially working with my team. They don’t know it, you’re our back-up, you’ll be here next week.” And with that, he hung up.

Loki sighed and then massaged his hands. Things seem to be getting worse, if Coulson actually wants him working closely with his tight-knit team. Even if it was behind the scenes. He wondered how long that would hold, but at the moment he had more stuff to worry about than an uncertain future of Coulson’s team. Obviously, Coulson did not want the help for himself, he wasn’t selfish in that capacity.

In the meantime, the Avengers still had a ton of work to do, clarifying which was HYDRA and which was S.H.I.E.L.D. was the least of their worries as Brigadier General Glenn Talbot was making their lives hell, not only claiming S.H.I.E.L.D. and HYDRA were the same, but that the Avengers were apart of them, which could apparently be seen by them so easily accepting James in their midst and letting Loki be on their team should have been an indicator long before the HYDRA uprising.

The only ‘heroes’ that man saw on the team were Steve, Rhodey and Sam, the military guys, skilfully forgetting James had served as well, which got him a whole lot of anger from a lot of different places. Talbot seemingly had a lot of things to say, especially about the Avengers and what a bunch of experiments gone wrong they were. The media sucked it up, especially when he called the Avengers S.H.I.E.L.D.’s puppets.

Darcy posted after that a short clip on the Avengers twitter account from the music video of ‘Bye Bye Bye’ by *NSYNC, where the members of the boyband were strung up, but in the end cut off. When a few of the ex-members of the band commented under the clip, it went even more viral and one could almost hear a few upset growls.

When January 11 arrived, exactly a year since Loki had gotten called to help Steve, Nat and Sam by bringing them supplies in their time of need, Coulson sent him the message that Loki had dreaded the past week.

**Coulson:** ‘Now.’

Loki looked a little unimpressed at his phone and then rolled his eyes, as if the director could see or smell his annoyance.

“I gotta go darling”, Loki told Tony and sighed.

“What are you doing?”

“Oh, just sneaking into a secret facility.”

“Have fun.”

Loki kissed him quickly and then got up out of bed and, switching into his mission suit and winking at the naked man in his bed, before becoming invisible and teleporting away.

He hissed quietly, when he arrived at the facility. He was still not up to his very best. The twins had drained him almost completely and even the best chocolate cake couldn’t help with that.

He let a small magic ball appear in front of Coulson to show him that he’d arrived and then sneaked through the facility. Apparently one Agent Bobbi Morse and Agent Jemma Simmons had made it back today. Loki walked behind Coulson and Agent Melinda May as the two greeted them and Agent Antoine Triplett, apparently a grandson of one of the Howling Commandos, if Loki remembered his file correctly. Which should make him automatically protected by the Avengers, if he recalled correctly.

The feeling in the room quickly changed from overly happy to bitter, when Agent Simmons spotted her old friend Agent Leopold Fitz. He had suffered an accident when S.H.I.E.L.D. fell apart. While the big battle in DC had been prevented, the other S.H.I.E.L.D. facilities had still suffered. Silently Loki walked into the laboratories, not wanting to disrupt the reunion and then swiftly following the rest of the crew, as Agent Morse greeted old friends and an old flame.

Loki also knew that Agent Morse had been close with Clint, and rumours that the two had been dating, had circulated while they’d both been inside S.H.I.E.L.D., obviously this also left a strain with Agent Lance Hunter who was her now ex-husband. On the other hand, Agent Morse’s reunion with Agent Alphonso Mackenzie seemed more friendly.

Lastly, Loki checked on Skye. Or Agent Skye. It seemed awfully confusing, who was and wasn’t an agent anymore, so he was better safe than sorry. In the end, Loki believed Coulson had not wanted him to see how he was suffering, how he’d been carving lines into walls. It was shocking and also worrying. Maybe Coulson was finally able to open up. Skye seemed to have an idea what it was, and Loki decided to let the worry go. He wasn’t here for Coulson; he was here for his team.

Loki knew it was a future dream as soon as he entered, this was too out-of-place to be a normal dream and to static to be a present dream. He was standing in the middle of a circular room. Underground it seemed, he noted, as he knelt at the shattered stones. Similar to the report that Coulson had done on another team member, almost killing her, if her arm hadn’t been cut off. Softly he picked the stone up. Upon closer inspection, he could clearly see it was half of a face.

“So, you’re the mystery member Coulson has”, someone said behind Loki and he turned to see Agent Mackenzie.

“He never shows all his cards.” Loki looked at the face. “Who is this?”

“Trip”, the man tells him. And Loki could make out the face, now that he knew what do look for.

A deep sigh left Loki, as he carefully placed the stone on the ground again. “How?”

“They got trapped here. Magic.”

Loki scoffed. “Mechanism, but not magic. Who else?”

“Skye, Raina.”

“What happened to them?”

“Why do you want to…”

“Coulson told you to give me any information while I investigate, correct?”

“Skye’s in medical, we don’t know where Raina is.”

Loki grunted. “He didn’t have to die.”

“No shit, Sherlock. This was stupid. The tunnels reject the ones not chosen. He shouldn’t even have been down here.”

Loki smirked at Agent Mackenzie. “I like you.”

“It’s not mutual.”

A chuckle went through Loki. “Hey, remind me, what day is it again?”

“April Fool’s Day. Though this seems like a very cruel joke.”

“Huh. So, _my_ day.”

“You wish, Trickster.”

Loki chuckled again and with one last look at the stony face among the rubble, he woke up.

Tony stared at him, when he opened his eyes.

“What?”

“I could hear you talk, while I touched you. It woke me.”

Sighing Loki took his husband’s hands and kissed them. “It’s nothing for you to worry about.”

“It was a future dream, Loki, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Where were you?”

“Coulson.”

“He’s in…”

“Not him. But certain members of his team are.”

“When?”

“April Fool’s Day.”

“You sure it’s not a joke?”

“Very. They wouldn’t pull a joke of someone dying.”

Loki pulled out his phone and texted Coulson.

**[To Coulson] L. S.:** ‘I need to meet the team and they all need emergency bracelets, for if they get into a situation they can’t possibly get out of.’

Coulson wouldn’t be happy about this, but he might comply, for his team. That’s what Loki counted on. It’s all he could count on. While he waited for an answer, he got started with the paperwork that would keep him only in moderate use till April. The Council wouldn’t like this. The public wouldn’t either and to do this to save one man…

“May I see your godmother?”, Loki asked Tony and his husband seemed a bit surprised.

“What for?”

“I might need her advice.”

“Trouble?”, Tony asked, concerned.

“Just morals.”

“Yeah she got those in mass”, Tony said with a small chuckle.

“Miss Carter”, Loki greeted, pressing a kiss to her wrinkled hand.

“Oh my, such a handsome visitor.”

Loki chuckled at that and Sharon, who had offered to be there rolled her eyes.

“It is so good to see you again, Miss Carter.”

“As it is to see you, Loki. What can I help you with today?”

“A moral problem”, Loki told her, trusting Sharon to keep her mouth shut about anything she might hear.

“Don’t you have morals, Loki?”

“I have a lot, I hope.”

“Ask away then.”

“If you know someone will die, but you will probably never know if any of their friends are in danger, should it still be your moral obligation to save this stranger, if one has no knowledge of the potential danger their friends face?”

Sharon stared at him with worry in her look.

“You can never save everyone, Loki. Saving one person might be enough.”

“But what if you don’t know if saving this one person will send the rest of the group down their dark path?”

“We only follow one path. We can’t change what will happen beyond what we can affect.”

“But _I can_ ”, Loki told her, tearing up. “I _can_ change the future.”

Sharon came over and closed her arms around him. “Then you try again”, she whispered. “You have a plan. Execute it and see if problems could arise. You will save that person, because not doing so will always tell you that you are responsible for their death, even if you didn’t end their lives.”

Loki whimpered and Sharon carefully brought him to sit on the floor. Peggy watched them carefully.

“You can only save the person whose life you know will end”, Sharon told him, “You’re not all-knowing. You can only do your best. You have the obligation to try and save as many people as you can, but people that will tell you, that you should have saved more, are blind in seeing that you tried your best. We can’t save everyone. But we can try to save more than would have died if we did nothing.”

Loki nodded slowly, clinging to her, as she pressed a soft kiss to his brow. “I’m trying to be good, I’m trying so hard.”

“And you will succeed. You have saved so many lives last year. You will save many lives again.”

“From behind a desk?”

“You make vital decisions, don’t you?”

Loki nodded slowly and she combed through his hair.

“Then you’re still part of the team. As a team, the person one person on the team saves, is saved by the team. You don’t say ‘I saved three people, you only saved one’. No, you decide who can save at the moment and who has to hold of the attacker. Both sides are equally important.”


	37. Agent Stark

“Everyone, meet Agent Stark.”

Loki smiled sweetly across the room, decked out in his best suit.

“Wait, didn’t he like, kill you?”, Skye asked.

A chuckle went through Loki. “Yes, young one, I was indeed the person that, while mind controlled, pierced the Sceptre through your now Director’s body, requiring surgery.”

“How the bloody hell did he become an agent?”, Hunter wanted to know.

“Easy”, Coulson said, “He passed the tests. Loki is here as an Avengers liaison and while he is still not up to his full potential again, after being hospitalised, he will still be able to help us out.”

“I also bring gifts”, Loki said, producing a chest full of neatly packaged bracelets. “If you’ve watched the Avengers’ missions closely, you might have noticed that every member wears a bracelet similar to this. I’m a teleporter, although only as a second or third skill. If any of you come to be in any danger that even with all of your immense skills can’t find your way out of, and I’m sure most of you _can_ , I read your files, you can call me by speaking my name. And yes, the bracelet can tell if you’re just talking about me or actually want my help.”

He placed the open chest on the table and then crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Use it with precaution. I might be a ‘God’, but I am still mortal, and every power can eventually run out.”

“Thanks, Loki”, Coulson told him and then grabbed a bracelet and put it on, more a sign to the others that he trusted Loki, than to show that he actually trusted his powers. This was to keep his team safe.

Reluctantly the team grabbed the bracelets and Loki turned to Coulson. “I’ll leave the chest with you. I trust you to keep the bracelets out of more unsavoury hands, otherwise I might not respond to every call.”

“Of course, Agent Stark.”

“Now”, Loki said, clasping his hands. “Who wants to spar with an alien?”

Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Skye flinch for a moment and then Loki turned to smile at Bobbi.

“I hear you’re an acquaintance of my friend Clint.”

“They hate me”, Loki said, as he sank down on the couch in the common room.

“Who hates you?”, Steve asked and James seemed ready to pick up a blade to shove into someone’s face.

“Coulson’s team.”

“Of course they hate you”, Nat told him and Loki groaned. “Everybody tends to get protective of Coulson. And they still believe you hurt him.”

“Are those bruises?”, Tony inquired as Loki changed from his more formal gear to normal clothes. “Who dared to lay a hand on my honeybun?”

“I asked them to spar. And I probably shouldn’t have mentioned Clint.”

“What did _I_ do?”, Clint asked confused.

“You know Bobbi.”

“Morse? She’s on his team?”

“Yeah. And Hunter wasn’t all too happy about you getting name-called.”

“Are they still married?”

“No. I don’t think they’ve been for a while.”

“Darn, she was so head-over-heels for him, I almost wanted to fake-break-up with her over it.”

“So you _did_ actually go out?”

“She was getting asked, and I was getting asked, and we both weren’t interested, so we took it to H.R., said we were in a relationship and that was the end of it. Half a year later we very quietly broke it off with H.R. again. Kept in contact afterwards, she told me about him then.”

“I am pretty sure, she didn’t mention you too often, but maybe working with you.”

“He has zero reason to be jealous of me and beat you up over it.”

“I think he did it to impress her, in some morally odd way.”

“I really shouldn’t beat him up over it, should I?”

“You shouldn’t. I wanted to spar, to maybe get at least a little accepted. Guess it’ll take a while.”

Loki accepted the warm chocolate drink that Tony handed him and drank greedily.

“So, you want to join the Coulson clique?”, Clint asked and Loki sighed.

“I have to.”

Clint frowned and a look around the room told Loki that everyone except Tony had a similar look on their face.

“Future dream”, Loki told them and emptied the cup.

“Fuck”, Nat cursed and turned away.

“And we can’t help. In any way”, Clint noted.

“Does Coulson know at least?”, Rhodey wanted to know.

Loki nodded and smiled a little. “He knows something is going on. He doesn’t know when, he doesn’t know who, but he could guess a few things. I already started with the first step.”

“So, I’m guessing you’re gonna be a lot more passive.”

“Yeah, Rhodey. I’m still healing and him calling on my skills is very shitty timing, not even a month after I gave birth. If it goes really bad…” Loki looked to Thor, who grimaced.

“Loki once spent multiple months asleep after being at a royal event, meeting thousands of people”, Thor explained, not going into detail why that happened then and not in their daily lives.

“I was still extremely young, barely mature. Meeting multiple people deliberately to do exactly this is bad practice.”

“And Coulson asked you?”, Clint asked, seemingly angry at his old handler.

“Only as a precaution. Would you not do it, if it was your team?”

“You’re still a person. You’re not a machine.”

Loki grabbed Clint roughly and pressed their heads together. “I am. I know. I am still just there to serve. I am not an oracle. I can see something, but I cannot shape the dream to what I want. I need to prove myself to them. And I already know I cannot do this forever. Just please…”

“I trust you”, Clint spoke and then held Loki closely. “Doesn’t mean, I won’t travel with you next time and give Coulson a talk in person of how shitty of an action this is and how this is mis-use of an agent.”

Loki smirked at that and shook a little, when Tony pulled him away. “Sleep”, his husband told him.

“And in the morning, we’ll find you a whole punch of chocolate covered things”, Clint shouted after them and Loki smirked softly.

The dream in the night wasn’t much better. Loki was standing in the same circular room, the woman, Raina with him, it seemed, as well as Skye and a Triplett, already in stone, particles all around them.

Loki saw the fear in Skye’s eyes, reaching for her friend. Only parts of her arm and face was uncovered. She must have spoken the words. Or maybe Triplett had, when he realised what was happening, crystals piercing his body. Instead of speaking to them, Loki went over to the other half-covered creature. He was careful as he touched her.

“What happened?”

“It was beautiful. The crystals opening.”

“Did it happen like it was supposed to?”

“The crystals were destroyed.”

“I can see that. Can you describe what happened?”

“It opened and released its power, blowing it towards us. He was not supposed to be here. He’s not special. Not like us.”

“I see.”

“We got covered to release our true selves.”

“It’s beautiful”, Loki spoke and smiled at her softly.

He let her go and kneeled in front of Triplett. “Why didn’t you just ask for help?”

Softly he touched him and then he felt his own self transforming, as he looked down himself, getting turned into stone himself.

A scream escaped Loki when he woke and he scrambled to his feet, Tony up only seconds later, as Loki peeled off his clothes and then fell to his knees relieved.

“Ma!”, Sleipnir shouted and appeared in the room. Loki was a little relieved to see him, though the worry on his face as well as the tired look did not make him very happy. Sleipnir needed his sleep.

“Lokes?”, Tony then asked, concern in his voice, pulling Loki from his thoughts.

“It’s on my back, isn’t it?”, Loki almost stated, as more and more people came into the room.

“It’s still spreading”, Tony told him, freaking out.

“There’s only one thing that can stop it right now”, Loki told him and looked at their faces.

“A Golden Apple”, Tony spoke.

“I would have said the Time Stone, but okay, I’ll meet you there”, Loki amended and then promptly teleported away.

“Loki”, shouted the Ancient One, surprised, as he appeared in front of her, grimacing in pain.

“I just need you to stop or slow time on my body”, Loki told her and turned around.

The Ancient One grabbed him quickly and brought him to the place where the ‘Eye of Agamotto’ was stored, before swiftly placing him out of time.

“How did you get this?”, she asked then.

“Dreams have a way of attacking me”, Loki told her.

“What will you do?”

“Golden Apple. I hope that will solve it. Otherwise…”

“My friend, I cannot lose you.”

Loki looked at her with a soft smile. “Neither can I lose you.”

The Ancient One opened a portal to the mansion and Loki walked through it, wearily. A spell like freezing time on a body always left a bad taste in his mouth. Speaking of which. While he could still talk and speak, his whole digestive system wouldn’t work unless he got to see the Ancient One again later on. Apparently, she had recognised as well.

“I guess it’s time to reveal myself to them.”

“It will not make much of a difference anyway, will it?”

“Something turning people into stone. I thought I heard of something like that. Whispers going around.”

Loki smirked. “The Dreamscape does not like people messing with the future.”

“Oh, then you and I are in a lot of trouble”, the Ancient One answered with a smirk, before they heard the Quinjet landing outside. Moments later, Loki’s family ran inside and Tony pressed a greedy kiss to Loki’s lips.

“Don’t you dare run out on me like that again, when you’re about to die.”

“Sorry, darling, time was not…”

“In your hands”, said the Ancient One, ending Loki’s sentence, before revealing the Time Stone in the ‘Eye of Agamotto’. Behind Tony, the Avengers collectively gasped, before Tony grasped Loki again, kissing him again.

“I need an Apple, darling”, Loki told him. “My Brother would surely agree that this is an emergency.”

Thor didn’t hesitate to nod, before Tony ran off.

“Sleipnir, wake your brothers and watch over the girls.”

Sleipnir nodded and teleported away. He was closer to Loki and Tony these days, because he was their only healer, not counting the several doctors the Avengers employed, but they had made less use of the mansion in the past few weeks, while Loki still needed to work on the main location and couldn’t always teleport on his own.

Speaking of which, Loki rolled up his sleeves and noted the soft glow on his arms.

“Shit”, Sam spoke quickly, noticing the movement and Clint growled, all their focus on the Time Stone forgotten. Nat grabbed him and Steve and dragged them back to the Quinjet.

“Where are you going?”, Rhodey shouted after them.

“To tear Coulson a new one, Barnes, you coming?”

“Yes, Ma’am”, James immediately answered and Sam looked apologetically, before running of as well. Only Bruce, Thor and Rhodey remained in the room with Loki and the Ancient One, surprising Tony as well, when he came back into the room.

“Let me guess, the rest of the bunch are doing something really stupid?”

“I didn’t want to die young”, Rhodey said in a defending stance and Tony shook his head with a small smile, before holding out a Golden Apple to Loki.

“Let’s hope this works”, Loki whispered, noting his sons entering, caring their younger sisters. Carefully he looked towards Thor. “Brother…”

Immediately, the burly man fell to his knees in front of Loki and grabbed his shoulder. “I am here”, he spoke and Loki took the first bite of the apple, noticing the Ancient One using the Time Stone on him, as he swallowed and took another bite.

Thor grabbed his chin to push the overflowing juice in his mouth as well. Worry was clearly on his face, as he made sure every last bit of the Golden Apple entered Loki’s system. He tried not to interpret the reactions around him. The last bits of the Apple consumed, Thor clasped his hand over Loki’s mouth, before pulling him towards his body by the neck. A whimper consumed Loki and then pain streamed through his body, as time flowed correctly again.

“It will be alright”, Thor promised, over and over again, as Loki screamed. “You have so much left to live for, Brother. It will not end now. It cannot end now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *hides*  
> Don't kill me!


	38. Team Loki

“Where is he?”, Clint practically growled at Agent May, when they arrived at the base.

“Follow me”, she answered, eying the other four Avengers just as suspiciously as she had Clint.

The Avengers marched after her, ignoring the other assembled agents from Coulson’s team, until Melinda knocked on a door.

“Come in”, Coulson said from the other side and Clint didn’t hesitate.

Coulson seemed to be a little surprised, as they came into the room and Clint waited for Nat to lock the door.

“To what do I owe this surprise visit?”

“Because of _your_ actions Loki is turning to stone”, Clint hissed. Coulson paled.

“How?”

“Dreams, especially future ones can affect him”, Nat said. “ _Last time_ he tried to prevent something, he got stabbed and barely got out. There was a report on that, so you should _know_. Did you even _ask_ how risky it would be for him?”

“Is he still alive?”, Coulson asked.

“We don’t know”, Steve told him with honesty. “With all due respect, Sir, you cannot force him, no matter what he did to you in the past, to use the little power he has at the moment for your purposes.”

“There’s nothing we can do about it now”, Coulson said.

“Yeah. Now. I thought you were better than that, Phil”, Clint cursed, “Loki was down. Loki was _hospitalised_ , he shouldn’t even shapeshift, much less teleport at this rate. And _you_ call on him to meet your team, because suddenly you’re afraid that you’re tapering into unknown territory? That’s fucking irresponsible.”

“So what, you’re his protectors?”, Coulson answered with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes”, Clint growled. “If, and I hope for the best, for _your_ sake, _if_ he’s still alive, you will not call on him unless you really need him. If he _needs_ to come here, he will call on you, not the other way around. Give him a month at least. And you will give him the option to back out. Whatever _happens_ , would have happened if Loki had not had the time, so it is not his fault, if it happens anyway. You won’t ask him; you’ll _never_ ask him. He has to figure that out alone.”

Clint leaned back, crossing his arms and didn’t even flinch when James buried a knife in Coulson’s desk. “The next time I come here, I hope it’s to retrieve that and not to use it to slice you up because Loki died trying to help you.”

“I don’t take lightly to being threatened.”

“You did this to yourself”, Nat told Coulson and unlocked the door again to watch the team that assembled outside.

“Barton, Romanoff”, Bobbi greeted and Clint smirked.

“Morse”, he and Romanoff greeted back in unison.

“What’s the occasion?”

“Loki got caught up in Coulson’s shit”, Clint told her, “He’s lucky if Loki survives.”

Nat added: “If Loki shows up here again I hope he’s greeted with an ounce of respect and not beaten up like last time. He might be a big blue alien, but he’s not unbreakable.”

“There’s a reason for him not doing any missions in the season that suits him most”, Rogers told them, “Let that sink in for a moment.”

Then the five marched off. On the way back to the Quinjet, Sam hissed in Clint’s ear: “Why did I come with you again?”

“ _You_ got on the jet by your own accords. But it’s always a good picture to look a little inclusive.”

“How’s he?”, Steve asked, as soon as they landed at the mansion.

“Not in stone”, Rhodey answered and everyone sighed relieved. “He has not woken up though”, Rhodey added then and nodded for the others to follow.

“This was always a risk”, informed a tired looking Tony them, when then walked into the house. “We all know how to treat wounds like stabbing, burning, frostbite, all that stuff. But to prevent someone from turning into stone?” He shook his head and then handed out winter jackets to the others, before putting on one himself.

When they entered the medical room, a cloud of icy temperature welcomed them, and they all shivered instantly. Loki was laying in his Frost Giant form and only in his underwear on the bed. Váli said at his head, caressing it and combing through Loki’s hair. Sleipnir and Narfi were laying on either side of Loki, all three having transformed as well.

Loki’s eyes were closed, but he was sweating profusely. There was only a dim, cold light in the room. The children’s piercing eyes were looking at them.

“How’s he?”, whispered Tony.

The twins shook their heads and Sleipnir supplied: “Still feverish.”

“But it’s gone?”, Clint wanted to know.

“Sometimes it appears again, it’s pulsing, fighting to stay”, Váli told him. He lifted Loki softly, pressing him upwards and his brothers helped to hold Loki steady, while the Avengers crossed the room and looked at Loki’s back. It had significantly gone down, but it was still present.

“What about the woman?”, Sam asked.

“She couldn’t stay”, Tony told them, before explaining: “Using the Stone to pull Loki back in time would make him unable to live. She stopped time on his body and only let it slowly progress, so he could actually swallow the Apple. Now it’s up to his body. But she’s looking for curses that are similar and sees if she has anything that might help if all this fails.”

“And the others?”

“Bruce and Thor are watching the girls. I gotta go back there too. They’re all in distress and only I seem to be able to calm them a little. Umm… If you could help out, check in whatever…”

“Of course, Tony”, Steve immediately said and pulled the shaking inventor in his arms. “You go look after the girls. We’ll be making sure the city stays safe.”

“I’m calling in back-up”, Sam immediately supplied and Nat nodded, as they both moved outside to make calls.

“Kitchen-duty?”, Clint asked Steve, when Tony left with a nod.

“Sure thing. James?”, Steve asked.

“I hate cold”, James whispered.

“You and me both, punk”, Steve answered and pushed the other super-soldier out of the room.

Clint smiled at the boys that had taken to caressing and seemingly sharing their Seiðr with their parent again. “If you need anything, tell J.A.R.V.I.S., okay? No matter what.”

“Thanks, Uncle Clint”, Narfi told him with a smile and Clint and Rhodey were the last to leave the room.

“This is bad”, Clint whispered to Rhodey, as they took the winter clothing off again.

“I agree”, Rhodey said, while nodding. “Thor said Eir was informed and is looking for solutions on Asgard, but he could die. This is closer than anything. This is not the bond. We’re lucky the effects don’t show on Tony’s body as well. If the press gets wind of this…”

“You think they’d spin it to make Loki look bad again?”

“I honestly don’t know how. The worst I can think of right now is ‘he got what he deserved’.”

“It’s still shitty”, Clint told him.

“Yeah.”

“What if he never wakes up?”

“We can’t think that far. The one good thing would be, that he won’t be able to tell anyone where the Reality Stone is. And as far as we know, he hasn’t told Tony either, not even with shared memories.”

“I think Jane could still know.”

“What?”

“She was there, wasn’t she? She could…”

“We won’t ever say that again”, Rhodey hissed and Clint nodded immediately. “J.A.R.V.I.S. make sure all evidence of that is gone.”

“Yes, Colonel Rhodes.”

“Fuck”, Clint cursed and they split up, Clint moving towards the kitchen, Rhodey moving across the living room to the children’s area.

Loki was catching his breath as he stumbled into the circular room again.

“Agent?”, Triplett asked and held him up.

“Here”, Loki told him and then hurled in a corner.

“She’s…”, Triplett started and Loki waved it off.

“Encased in stone, right?”

“Yeah. Wait no. They _turned_ to stone.”

“No. She did not turn to stone. Can’t you see the difference? All her clothes are covered, so she’s alright. She’s going to be alright.”

“You promise?”

Loki spit the last of his vomit to the side. “Yes. I promise. Now. What day is it again?”

“Tuesday?”

“Fine. I’ll work with that. At least it’s not Thor’s day, I got shit luck on Thursdays.”

Triplett laughed a little and Loki smiled up at him before his eyes focused on the crystals on the pedestal in the middle of the room.

“Hello there”, he whispered and wanted to touch it, but Triplett held him back. “Oh. That’s the stuff that turns people to stone?”

“Can you save us?”, Triplett asked instead of answering.

“I don’t have to save her, she’s completely fine. But I might want to…”

Loki was about to start working on putting a barrier around the crystals, when first Raina’s and then Skye’s covers fell away and she blasted free, hurling the crystals around the room and Triplett grabbed Loki, pulling him down and shielding him from the crystals that pierced his own body. Before his eyes, Triplett turned to stone and then crumbled apart.

“No!”, Skye yelled, helpless and damn wasn’t that even worse than the first option? Loki saw her drop to the floor, unconscious, before his eyes went to Raina, who was covered under stone, but conscious.

“Well this went like shit”, he told her, before waking up.

“Ma?”, Sleipnir immediately asked and Loki needed to figure out where he was. Narfi and Váli were asleep at his sides, his skin was blue, as was theirs.

“Mansion?”, Loki asked croaky.

“Yes, Ma.”

“How much…”

“A week, Ma.”

“I will alert the team”, J.A.R.V.I.S. chimed.

Loki breathed deeply and then laid back against Sleipnir’s chest, while the other massaged him again.

“Is it gone?”, Loki whispered.

“Disappeared a few days ago completely. You still have a fever though.”

“That’s not good.”

“But your Seiðr is returning.”

“Good.”

“How are the dream sessions going?”

“Worse than before. Well, it started good, but apparently my decision was a bad one.”

“How?”

“Well, the outcome was essentially worse.”

“Lokes!”, Tony shouted as he ran into the room and in turn woke the two other boys that immediately clenched around Loki.

“Too loud”, Loki hushed and used both of his hands to stroke through the hair of his twin sons.

“You’re awake”, Tony said quietly, wrapping a hand around Loki’s ankle and then coming up to kiss his cheek

“I am.”

“Food?”, Tony asked and Loki smirked at him.

“Sustenance.”

Tony grinned widely, before snickering and diving in to press another kiss to Loki’s forehead.

“I will serve it right away, love.”

“Eternally”, Loki whispered and Tony pointed at him.

“I’m holding you to that.”

Loki grinned again, before pressing kisses to his still sleepy sons, as Tony skipped from the room, opening it up to let the rest of the Avengers to stumble in.

“I’m alive”, Loki announced and Clint came over to ruffle his hair.

“You better be. These three still got a lot of training left to someday replace your awesomeness.”

Loki laughed and somehow most Avengers found themselves in close proximity, as Loki hugged them all tightly, before eventually letting himself be carried out of the room by James, who seemed a little more clingy than usual.

“Ice cream”, Tony served with a wide smile, before kneeling and proceeding to feed the Frost Giant.

Loki was grateful for that. Even holding himself upright was already draining him and he felt his eyes fall closed, as soon as he had eaten a little.

“It’s fine”, Tony breathed and James steadied him.

A little shuffling around the room made Loki even more painfully aware, that everyone was up and concerned about him.

Tony was careful with feeding him, but having the experience with feeding Runa, he was good at catching the slipping away food. When Loki’s head eventually started to slip, Tony stopped feeding him and Loki was swiftly bundled up and pressed to James’ steady body.

“Br’th’r”, Loki slurred and James hummed.

“I’m here.”

“Still fever?”

“Only a little, I think. Sleip?”

“Not even a Human fever anymore, Ma”, Sleipnir whispered.

“But still a Frost Giant one”, James read between the lines, “Is it good that he’s this close to me?”

“Warm”, Loki stated, before adding, “cuddly.”

James chuckled a little and pulled him closer. “Yeah we’re all a very cuddly bunch.”

“It would still be best, if he remained with us for a longer period of time. Contact is important put _especially_ the super-soldiers have a higher temperature than us Frost Giants”, Sleipnir commented.

“But cuddly”, Loki protested and James held him steadily.

“Take a nap, Brother”, James told the Jötunn and it was not long, that the Trickster did so.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me promise you just one thing: I'll have this wrapped up by the time Interlude ends...


	39. Finding Solutions

Loki dreamed again. He was not in the circular room this time. He was in the, what looked like a meeting area at Coulson’s base.

“Where is he?”, Skye screeched from a tablet.

“Safe”, Loki answered the angry looks around the room. Because that would have been his next option. That’s what he would have tried next. He would have taken Triplett and teleported him away.

“Oh yeah, like we believe a word out of your alien mouth”, Hunter spat and Loki sighed.

“He’s fine. He would not have survived the blast.”

“Are you saying?”, Coulson started and he at least looked sympathetic.

“I saw him die. Twice. Well, once I was just a little too late.”

“Are we pawns in his game?”, Jemma questioned Coulson and Loki breathed deeply. This was not a good look either. He would have to tell Coulson, that he should never admit that he sought help in Loki.

The picture faded out. The last thing Loki saw was that the base started to shake again.

Loki woke up, lying somewhere between Tony and Clint. Tony was awake, Clint seemingly deep asleep.

‘Not good?’, Tony quietly asked in Loki’s head.

_‘Not much better. Maybe even worse. One scenario. I tried stopping the action, I tried removing the person…’_

‘And you don’t know what else to try?’

_‘What else is there?’_

‘I’m not sure.’

Tony pressed a kiss to Loki’s cheek and then slowly sat up. Loki followed him soon after and looked around the room.

“This is not the pillow jail”, he then said.

“I know”, Tony told him, “It’s not nearly as comfortable.”

Loki pressed a kiss to his neck and then stretched, before realising he wasn’t in his Jötunn form anymore.

“Neat”, Loki said, checking his Seiðr, before grabbing Tony’s hand and watching their bond unfurl and shine around them. “I got charged.”

“I hope not”, Tony stated with a snicker, “We don’t need another one accidentally blowing up toasters around here.”

“Oh, did he claim it accidental?”

“Surely Brother”, Thor started, somewhere around the room, “You cannot claim I electrocuted the wicked machines on purpose.”

“I had not, Brother, but thanks for confirming. Chocolate?”

“Catch”, Nat said and Loki turned in her direction, before snatching a chocolate bar thrown at him.

“Thank you, this is most kind.”

“Get back to normal, Lo, it’s distracting”, Clint murmured, rubbing his eyes and Loki offered him a piece of candy. Sleepily Clint opened his mouth and Loki fed him the piece, before turning to his husband and offering him the same.

“I should be pissed that he got first bite, right?”, Tony asked, before opening his mouth wide to let Loki feed him.

“He’s testing if it’s poisoned.”

“Sure”, Tony murmured and then pressed a kiss to Loki’s neck as Loki ate a piece of chocolate himself.

“Alright, darlings, we seriously need to get off this ground and back to work. The Starks, plus Thor are going to stay here, everybody else moves to the tower come morning. We’ll be in daily for work, at least if we can.”

“Bossy”, Clint murmured.

“Well, I’m pretty sure you didn’t switch out your liaison just because I was asleep for a week, now, chop-chop, I want to make breakfast and someone probably has to help me stand, so I can pretend to be more injured than I actually am.”

James pulled Loki up and then Tony right after. “Go make breakfast”, he decided, before moving on to helping the other entangled Avengers on their feet.

Tony softly grabbed Loki by his hips and then moved him towards the kitchen. Quickly they went on to making a bunch of vegetarian pasta and sauce, Tony had obviously stocked up when all the Avengers had decided to move into the mansion to help out.

Thankfully Tony and Loki also had huge pots so they could actually cook 6 kilos of pasta for the entire group of Avengers and Loki’s children. It might still not be enough even though Loki roughly calculated seven normal human portions, eight normal super-human portions and one baby portion for Runa. They would not feed the babies pasta yet, but Runa with almost two years to her name could have pasta.

When the eighteen present people were finally assembled around the huge table in their living room, Loki couldn’t help but laugh a little. All Avengers, plus Darcy and Happy were here and they were all there for him.

“This is crazy”, Loki finally said, before raising his glass. While it was only filled with water, it still had the same effect. “To family”, Loki toasted, “Most of you could have left, gone back to your normal lives, but I’m glad you all care enough.”

“To family”, Thor answered across the long table and left his glass as well, the rest of the adults following easily in the motion, even Runa lifting her cup.

It felt a little odd and Loki smiled even brighter when a warm feeling flourished inside him.

Somehow the media had not gotten wind of Loki being away, most of that could be attributed to Darcy’s good handling of the twitter account. She had learned a lot since the summer and now made more active decisions than just ‘going with her gut’.

Hill and Coulson seemed relieved though, Coulson a little more than Hill and Loki had not wanted to inquire what could have gotten him to feel that way. He just assumed, that it had something to do with half the team’s departure before he had fallen into deep sleep.

He had a few things to catch up on and with the Golden Apple giving him a boost, he was also able to do a few low-key missions where it would go faster if they had a magic-user at their side. The public seemed happy at seeing the Trickster outside and at press conferences.

Loki had steered clear of those since the incident and especially before the case was settled. After that Loki had still tried to avoid them, mostly because of him pregnant and later on giving birth. Then they argued that Loki had nothing to add, as he wasn’t on any missions at the moment, but now he was back, with Sleipnir apparently permanently glued to his side.

The boys had decided together that they did not want their biological parent to go out unprotected. And even as Loki argued, that with his Seiðr he was certainly not unprotected nor a ‘damsel’ needing to be rescued, the boys stayed true to their commitment. Loki could see his own determination in their eyes and was silently proud of them standing up to him like this.

A birthday celebration and one Valentine’s Day outing later, this year the husbands could have their dinner without chaperones, Loki was no further at finding a solution for his problem. If he did nothing, Triplett would die. If he got him out, even just out of the circular room, Coulson’s team was angry, especially Skye. If they stayed and Loki tried to put a protective guard around the crystals, the pieces blown off of Skye still killed Triplett, even if he did not turn to stone.

When the first training session of the year came, Loki still had no idea how to save him without Coulson’s entire team completely losing trust in him. Just appearing and dragging Triplett out would not do.

“Are you prepared to lose the trust of your people?”, Loki whispered quietly to Coulson, who was standing at the side of the area.

“How much?”, Coulson asked.

“They may say you have been lying to them, put me on call under false pretences.”

“I’m prepared to have them doubt me.”

“Alright.” Loki nodded and then walked off to where the team was slowly assembling.

“Who is it this time?”, Tony asked, a little annoyed.

“Thor and Hulk”, Hill announced and the two people stood up. “Pick your teammates.”

“Loki”, both said at the same time and Loki laughed loudly.

“Sorry, Brother, this means I choose and we have already had so many adventures together.” Loki walked over to Hulk and climbed up on the big one’s back, when Hulk held out his hand for him.

“Steve”, Thor decided then.

“Metal Arm”, Hulk chose next and James walked over to their team, giving Hulk a fist-bump that the green guy accepted with a bright grin.

“Umm… Tony”, Thor chose.

“Pretty lady”, Hulk said and apparently Hulk was the only one to say that to Nat, because she actually laughed and walked over.

“Rhodey”, Thor decided and now Hulk was actually thinking.

“Arrow”, he then slowly spoke and that made Loki nod in appreciation.

They may have no fliers with this scenario, with Thor, Tony, Rhodey and Sam all on the other team, but the others only had Steve on the ground, and Thor at times, so two snipers warding off the fliers could actually prove successful.

When they came together into a circle, Hulk was short with his demands. He pointed at Clint and James. “Shoot flying men”, he said. They nodded and Hulk pointed to Loki. “Help them.” Loki nodded as well and watched as Hulk turned to Nat. “Get flags.”

“Sure thing”, she answered, “and you?”

“Smash blondies.”

“Good choice”, Loki said and Hulk smiled a little and gave Loki a soft pat on his head.

“Careful.”

“Yes, Sir”, Loki answered with a grin.

In the end, all worked out was as Hulk wanted, Nat got the most flags for their team, as Steve and Hulk battled together, and Loki was busy repositioning the snipers. Every now and then, one of the others would get a flag as well, but it went pretty well for a team that to an outsider might have looked like it would lose. Despite the fact that they had three assassins, only counting that they were led by a ‘mindless beast’. It took longer than everyone thought, as Loki and Nat sometimes had to hide their flags or put up bogey flags to trap one of the fliers for a while.

With that March started and Loki was busy keeping a checklist on the New York heroes and vigilantes, as they made a list of whom to leave ‘in charge’ of protecting the world when they would eventually go after Thanos. Even the name made Loki shiver and he ended up calling Gamora in the middle of the night again.

“Loki”, she greeted him.

“He’ll kill me, won’t he?”, Loki whispered, from his room.

“He’ll try. Will you let him get that far?”

“I’ll try not to”, Loki said, honestly, not wanting to reveal, that he already knows that he will freeze if Thanos so much as lays a hand on him.

“You will succeed”, Gamora tried to assure him. She wasn’t the best at pep-talks and obviously she was trying her hardest, but Loki could only nod and hum in general agreement. “Alright, gotta go, we’re about to land again, get a refill, get some information.”

“Thanks”, Loki whispered and Gamora hung up instead of saying actually goodbye, but Loki would have been concerned otherwise.

“Honey?”, Tony asked somewhere in the living room and Loki stepped out of the coat closet, to find his husband worriedly looking for him.

Wordlessly, Loki pulled him against his body and let his head sink onto Tony’s shoulder.

“You’re stressed”, Tony stated and then took Loki’s hand, pressing another kiss to it. “If it’s too much…”

“I’ll get over it. I still got four weeks. I’ll figure it out.”

“Alright sweetheart.” Tony hummed and then said: “We should go to a spa or something, get you pampered. Or maybe I just take a course, you’re going to need that after all of this mess.”

Loki sighed and kissed to Tony’s neck. “Thank you, dear.”

“Now. Want to watch a show until we fall asleep?”

“Please”, Loki whispered and Tony softly tugged him after himself. They cuddled closely on the sofa and Loki had no idea what mindless nonsense was going on, but it was a background noise that just about pushed him into a soft sleep again. Here, in front of the TV with his husband taking care of him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Coming up with a solution was pretty hard, I had to analyse the whole damn scene again and again...


	40. The U.N. shooting

It was early on March 7 that the United Nations Headquarters in New York got attacked. Supposedly it had been S.H.I.E.L.D. and that had many people on edge quickly. So as S.H.I.E.L.D. liaison, Loki did not wait for any of the Avengers to gather and come up with ideas about what happened but went to Coulson directly.

“What the hell happened?”, Loki asked Coulson, as the other picked up the call, Loki placed from his office, not bothering to use his powers.

“HYDRA”, the Director informed him curtly.

“What are you gonna do about it?”

“Whatever we can.”

“What do you want me to do?”, Loki asked, slowly getting annoyed by Coulson’s not really forthcoming answers.

“Play your role.”

“And which is that?”

“Starks oh so lovely husband.”

“Why?”

“He’ll want to go after the Senator. You’re going to stop him.”

“He won’t like that.”

“Well, that ain’t my problem.”

“Anything else I can help you with?”, Loki asked, pretending to be an agent which Coulson could actually boss around and not just advise.

“Make sure to tell our S.H.I.E.L.D. friends to keep low, people are coming for them.”

“For me too.”

“Yes. Just keep the Avengers out of trouble.”

“Alright, Sir.” Loki nodded and waited for the other to nod, before hanging up.

“J.A.R.V.I.S., put the building on lockdown, the team will meet me in five.”

“Will do, Master Stark.”

Loki moved quickly and surely to the meeting room, collecting James and Sam on the way.

“What’s going on?”, James asked him.

“I’ll tell you soon”, Loki told him, on edge.

Loki waited for five minutes and thankfully everybody made it.

“Good. I didn’t want to start without any of you”, Loki began.

“What’s this about?”, Bruce asked, seemingly still half asleep.

“S.H.I.E.L.D.’s under attack.”

That got their attention. “By whom?”, Steve wanted to know.

Loki gave James an apologetic smile, before answering: “HYDRA. Well, and a Senator. J.A.R.V.I.S., play the video of the attack on the U.N. this morning.”

J.A.R.V.I.S. played the video and most of the people in the room frowned, apart from Clint.

“I know that guy. He tried to kill me”, the archer stated, surprised.

Loki smirked at the new information. “We have to make sure nobody gets in our out. That means, we are on total lockdown, until this has been cleared, there will be no peep from any of us. No word, no tweet, no picture. Nothing online and nobody will step near the windows. It’s as if we don’t exist. At this moment, we do not. Our involvement would only make things worse, possibly blow them out of proportions…”

“Who’s calling shots on this?”, Nat asked.

“Coulson and his team.”

“You still winning their trust?”, Tony wanted to know.

Loki gave Tony a short nod. “This will go my way. J.A.R.V.I.S., make sure there is no communication from any of the Avengers. I’m sorry, but all will go through me at the moment.”

The Avengers groaned until Tony offered: “Hey, that means, we can catch up on a few movies.”

Loki nodded. “Dismissed.”

The others got up, only Tony approached him. “I know you hate this, sweetheart.”

“I do. I have to save him.”

“Won’t happen today.”

“I know it won’t.”

“And I know you hate being the S.H.I.E.L.D. liaison.”

“I do. But to get to actually walk around free…”

“You’ll do anything.”

“Yes.” Loki sighed and pressed his head onto Tony’s shoulder.

“So, you’re on call?”, Tony then asked.

“Yeah.”

Tony softly kissed him. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

“I always do.” Loki smiled softly and they kissed again.

After watching a Senator from Massachusetts speak on WHiH, Loki basically expected Coulson to call him, as the Senator not only went heavily after S.H.I.E.L.D. but was surprisingly enough named Christian _Ward_.

“Sir”, Loki greeted, his eyes fixated on the screen, slightly intrigued, as Coulson initiated the conversation.

“Have you seen him?”

“Who?”

“The Senator.”

“Ward? Why?”

“I need a small favour.”

“What is it?”

“I need you to impersonate him.”

Loki rolled his eyes. “Fine. I’ll study him. How are your people?”

“Fine.”

Loki smirked. “And the person in your basement?”

“He’s getting nervous.”

“I could mess up his head, if you wanted to.” He did not want to add, that he actually wouldn’t like that, he very much wanted to keep out of the minds of many people.

“No.”

“Fine, Sir, I’ll keep the Avengers on a leash, you keep your agents under wraps.”

In the evening, Loki did what Coulson wanted, he transformed into the Senator and gave the excuses Coulson wanted to the secretary. He checked in at the base again, invisible, seeing a few members missing and a few hardships. His focus on Agent Triplett, whom Loki slowly started calling Trip, whenever he saw him in the dreams, almost made him to be discovered, but he left for the tower right after.

Coulson didn’t need him again that day. The next though, he quickly sent him a video link and a message: ‘Get our agents out of there.’ Loki sighed and teleported there, grabbing six different S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and dropping them to the Triskelion.

“Very sorry, agents, it seems to have been a trap. Coulson’s team are taking care of it”, he told them, after reading the message from Coulson.

“Where are we?”

“The Triskelion. Director Hill will be right with you. If you wish to leave, I can take you elsewhere. I had to drop illusions of you there, making HYDRA believe, that nothing is wrong.”

“I want to talk to Coulson.”

“That won’t be possible at the moment, his team is still in field and telling him now, that it worked, might compromise the team, because they believe, I can save them as well. You may be able to speak with them later.”

“But this isn’t S.H.I.E.L.D.”, argued the agent, “Not anymore.”

“It is. But I understand your concern, agent, if you wish for me to bring you all elsewhere where you can regroup, I can do that.”

She looked around and then took a breath. “You’re that… liaison from the Avengers, right?”

“Agent Loki Stark”, Loki confirmed with a nod.

“And you can assure me, that this is still S.H.I.E.L.D.?”

Loki conjured a Tablet and showed her the footage of the day S.H.I.E.L.D. ended HYDRA on their own turf. “I placed a truth spell on gemstone and we only ever asked one question, needing a yes or no. Most of the scientists here were still not convinced, so they used the proper tools afterwards, which made more people actually leave S.H.I.E.L.D., even if they passed the test, believing their word was not trusted.”

“Yeeesh”, she said and shook her head, “Could see how they did not like that.”

“I think it’s more that they did not trust _me_ , instead of them.”

“You have that problem a lot, don’t you?”

Loki shrugged. “On occasion, there’s this awful thing people say. Call me the ‘God of Lies’. Doesn’t mean I lie all the time. That back there, that’s typical Loki behaviour, tricking people into seeing something that’s not true…” Loki frowned for a moment, an idea emerging, but he stuffed it back down, as he was still on a job.

“You could show us this as a trick.”

“Then verify your sources. Should I drop you somewhere else, maybe give you a trip of the Avengers Tower?”

She laughed lightly and her team smirked as well. “Call Coulson, if you need confirmation. Call me, if you need to get out of here.” He conjured six bracelets. “These are faster than phones. If you don’t feel completely safe here, put them on, if you do, hand them to Director Hill, she’ll get them back to me. To call me, just speak my name. If I’m not otherwise occupied, I will always make time.”

The agents took them and their group leader thanked Loki. “This is very forthcoming.”

“In these times it helps to be a little paranoid.” Loki looked over the shoulders of the agent and saw Hill approaching. He shifted into a more formal stance and smiled at her. “Director Hill”, he greeted the woman.

“Loki. Agents. A thank you is extended from Director Coulson as well. We’re glad to have all of you.” She looked around the group and added: “Follow me”, before looking at Loki again and telling him: “You’re dismissed, agent. As is your lockdown.”

“Thank you”, Loki told Hill, before turning to the team, “Farewell.” A short nod later, Loki teleported away and back to the office in the tower.

Loki switched from his suit into comfortable clothing and walked up to the common room.

“Mass destruction evaded”, Loki said loudly enough and the members around the table looked towards him.

“The future dream?”, Clint asked and Loki shook his head.

“Oh no, that’s still coming, and I might have a new idea how to deal with that but be happy. All of you can shout at the world again how you are superior human beings and the world should bow down to you. We should check and see if the association with S.H.I.E.L.D. has negative effects on the reputation on the Avengers and then deal with it accordingly.”

Tony nodded and then held out a plate to Loki. “Waffle?”

“I’d love to, yes”, Loki answered and snatched it off the plate.

“You were saying you got some new ideas?”, Tony asked then, before going back to standing next to Steve who was making the waffles.

“Idea. One. Singular, got into my head with an exchange I had with an agent.”

“Which one?”, Clint wanted to know and Loki rolled his eyes.

“Classified. But we got to talking about how S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters still issued tests after we already gave the agents an easy yes or no question with a truth spell. And then we got to that everybody thinks I’m the ‘God of Lies’, while that is not true at all. All in all, I think I might have another trick up my sleeve”, Loki answered with a smirk.

“But first”, Tony said, “Twitter’s gotta see this picture”, Tony told them and showed Loki a picture of himself, eating a waffle that he had sneakily took.

“Yes, first things gotta go back to normal. We’ll try not to mention S.H.I.E.L.D., J.A.R.V.I.S., inform the other Avengers of the development.”

“Tea?”, Loki offered, smiling sweetly at Professor Xavier.

“Yes, please. How was the team vacation?”

“Uneventful”, Loki told him, as he poured the other the tea. Charles had visited him in the office, after Tony had posted all of the Avengers enjoying the afternoon sun on the rooftop together.

“And Belgium?”

Loki wasn’t surprised Charles knew about that and answered: “Not much different than from my last visit. I didn’t see much of it, before I was out of the country again.”

“I wanted to talk to you about your… problem.”

“The colourful one, or the big muscly purple one?”

“I had thought you might have another, one that actively approaches.”

“That, we will not talk about. That, I am taking care of myself.”

“Let’s talk about the purple one then.”

“You and your best team are on the response notification.”

“I know. I have a few people I want to add”, Charles told him and handed Loki a folder. Loki opened it for a moment and examined the list.

“I’ll take it into consideration.”

“We studied the foetus”, Charles then mentioned and Loki shook his head.

“No.”

“You don’t even know what I was going to say”, Charles argued.

“No, I don’t wish to know the extent of what the DNA tells you about its father. Drop it.”

“Then let’s talk about leaving the world protected.”

“We will. I have considered and moved people around.”

“You’re not leaving a representative behind, someone that will talk to the people, will be able to answer the questions of the heroes and vigilantes.” Charles shook his head “My people are not prepared to step up like that.”

“And S.H.I.E.L.D. as we’ve seen the past few days cannot do it either”, Loki realised.

“Yes. And you surely won’t leave anyone behind from the Avengers, bench them.”

“As long as we’re fighting on planets with gravity and breathable air, we won’t need to, but we’re still vastly underprepared as how far space suits go. The Guardians are helping, but their suits are not helping for our technological members. We have to create functioning space suits for Iron Man, War Machine and Falcon, whose armour is also part of their weapon.”

“Is Tony still working on it?”

“Of course. Upgrading his and Rhodey’s armour is nothing new to him. He hasn’t been able to test it in more than theory yet and we’ve not wanted to send out empty armours into space, when they haven’t passed the theoretical tests.”

“You’re confident he’ll figure it out with his lab restrictions?”

“It’s been quiet, and I don’t think Tony has noticed that those have actually been loosened since the Guardians have come to Earth.”

Charles frowned. “Why not tell him?”

“He would argue that he would abuse that power and not see his family. He’d set it himself again. JARVIS reminds him of his family whenever he is not in the middle of something. Two years ago, he would have been on a science binge by now. Hel, a year ago, he’d have been on one as well, but at this time… he’s changed.”

“Guess therapy did you both some good.”

“It did us all a lot of good. Still does.” Loki smiled at Charles and then moved to take a sip of his tea. “Do _you_ have any suggestions on how to leave New York and the rest of the world not completely stranded?”

“Well”, Charles started, “For one, the mutants can focus on the rest of the world if push came to shove, but I might have some ideas for whom to leave in charge, if it came to a planned mission.”


	41. One last time for Antoine Triplett

The day was here. Loki was stressed, Tony was stressed as well in turn and the sons were taking care of the girls.

“Don’t you dare have an ‘emergency’ for Loki today”, Tony had growled at the Avengers after they’d woken in the morning. Their knowledge that it was today would not change any dreams as Loki did not plan on sleeping today.

Changing things set in stone is a very delicate process, so bulldozing through it like Thor would was not in the books. None of Coulson’s team knew Loki was already in San Juan, none knew that he followed them there.

It wasn’t all in the moral code and Loki wanted to change the plan every step of the way. Whenever things went wrong. Whenever more information came to light that Loki had not known before. Loki knew he couldn’t do anything couldn’t budge, so when the electronics went down and things happened to Mack, Loki, knowing the other would eventually end up fine, did nothing.

Loki was ready to step in when Mack started choking Bobbi and he was ready to jump down after him, when he fell into the hole. Only the knowledge everyone would end up being fine held him back. He stayed behind watching the hole in the ground, contemplating if he should actually do what he thought was needed and jump in there.

Still, the very first dream, he’d seen Mack, back to his usual self. He had not done anything different in that dream and so he would not now. When Fitzsimmons returned with Trip, all dressed in contamination suits, Loki got even more nervous. This was not it, not yet, Trip had not been in one of those suits when he’d turned to stone.

In fact, the only thing that made Loki doubt that it was dangerous down there without such a suit was the fact that Mack had clearly gotten possessed. Quiet as a shadow, he followed the three down the tunnel. Staying out of their way and out of the corners of their eyes would be difficult.

Then the three split, with Fitz going alone and despite Loki having to save Trip, he could not bear to leave Fitz alone. Thankfully the agent did not need his help after all as Loki watched him get back to the other two. When Loki went up, he saw Trip on the phone and there he was, in the outfit that killed him, bandage around his arm. Loki had read up, apparently he had gotten shot by Skye’s father just before this mission.

As Loki’s pulse shot through the roof and he stepped aside to took deep calming breaths, he missed what the call was about. When he saw Trip jump into the hole however, Loki reacted, taking only a moment to reveal himself to Fitzsimmons.

“Everything will turn out fine. Hopefully”, he hissed and turned invisible again, while jumping after the man. He jogged after the man, only evading him by a few inches once, when the other stopped at one of the explosives and then ran back the way he came a few steps.

“One more to go”, Trip talked to himself, panting and quietly, like an echo, Loki repeated the words. Trip got to the last one just in time and Loki had almost thought he had done something wrong, that he’d failed.

And then Trip was suddenly there, in that room, the last wall closing around it, Raina and Skye both inside. Loki had to take another deep breath then.

‘Not now.’

The Obelisk opened and they stared fascinated as crystals formed.

‘Not now’, Loki insisted to himself.

Raina and Skye started getting covered in Stone and she screamed at Trip.

‘Not now.’

Skye was fully covered in stone, as was Raina and Trip turned towards the crystals.

‘Now.’

“Loki, I need your help, man.”

“Already ahead of you”, Loki told him, revealing himself and conjuring a stone statue of Trip.

Trip frowned at him. “Why do you…”

“You kick it, one buries itself in you, you turn to stone.” Loki placed a small magic explosive. “She’ll live. She’s not _in_ stone, she’s _covered_ in stone. This is the only way.”

Loki grabbed Trip and teleported him upstairs to where Fitzsimmons were standing.

“Think of it as a very cruel April Fool’s joke.”

“It’s still March”, Fitz commented and Loki shrugged.

“How did you…”

“Coulson brought me on, because I can see the future, sometimes, in my dreams. He already lost one person. I came to the base, invisible and saw all of you, just for a moment. The day you got back from your Undercover mission.” Loki pointed to Simmons. “Congratulations by the way, that must have been intense. The night after I dreamt. Dreamt of tomorrow. Can I show you?”

“Sure, whatever.”

Loki laid his hand on Trip’s head and the man gasped.

“This would have been my end.”

“And the times after showed me, that you destroying the crystals had made no difference.”

“Then why destroy it?”, Trip asked and then held onto Loki as the tunnels shook for a moment. Fitzsimmons clinging to each other and Loki laying a supporting hand on them.

“Because”, Loki shouted through the quake, “if I’d only taken you away, everybody would be angry. If I didn’t destroy it, _this_ would have and you would have died anyway, if I wouldn’t have taken you away. And if I did what I just did, there needed to be a reason for you to be in stone. You died today. This will weigh on Skye for a long time, I am sure, it would on me. You came to save her, and you died for that.”

“But I didn’t”, Trip stated after the shaking had stopped.

“That’s your choice. This was my mission. It stops today, well, tomorrow… After debrief. If you’re going to show yourself to Skye, reveal that you’re alive or take go another way, that is your choice. I will not make that one for you.”

“They would have been fine without me?”

“I don’t know that. I could only see this today, tomorrow on occasion, after this I am as blindsided as all of you. At least in this regard.”

Loki leaned to look down the tunnel, knowing that not only were Skye and Raina down there, somewhere, but Mack as well.

“For what it’s worth, I’d really love to have you”, Loki told Trip and, when the other coughed, added: “As a partner, being co-liaison. I know the Avengers pretty well and am still learning S.H.I.E.L.D.’s ways. You’d be a good fit. Some might even say, perfect fit, with you being a Howlie descendant.”

Trip looked at him contemplating Loki’s words. “I’ll think about it.”

Loki smiled. “Alright, umm, what’s the procedure, pack everything up? I can help with that. Calendar’s been cleared for today and tomorrow, So you might as well use me.”

Trip laughed at that and Fitzsimmons slowly recovered, letting go of each other.

“So what, he was here for _our_ protection?”, Hunter asked.

“Yes”, Coulson admitted.

“It’s been an honour working with all of you. You’re doing great work here, there are a lot of special things this team does. Not beginning, but certainly containing whatever the Obelisk did.”

“It shot him with the same stuff”, Coulson said, “How can you be so sure he’s fine?”

“Because Agent Triplett did not get covered in stone, or, come to think of it, it looked more like tar, and he’s still walking around.”

“So, what _was_ that?”, Simmons asked, interested.

“I have no idea. I am sure the both of you, maybe with Skye and Trip will figure it out together”, Loki said to her. “I wish I had more answers. I have encountered the Kree, but some things are even new to a millennia old Frost Giant like myself.”

“Oh, you must have so many things to tell”, Simmons told him and Loki nodded with a smile.

“I have decades upon decades of knowledge, after all, knowledge is power.”

“And we cannot convince you to share?”, she asked, almost begging in her sweet British tone.

“I will share when the time is right, Agent Simmons. Knowledge that has absolutely nothing to do with anything will do you all no good, but send you leading down a trail of breadcrumbs. Next time, I’d love to hear if you encounter any and all things alien. As long as I’m not too occupied with anything else.”

“We will, Agent Stark”, Coulson assured.

“If anything happens to either member affected on this mission, I expect to hear from at least one of you”, Loki told them with a smirk.

“What makes you think Trip’s not coming with you?”, Mack asked, still weary from the effect the tunnels had on him.

“He has found a home here, a purpose. I mean, all of you are basically family to each other already, though be it one that was just kind of thrown together in a room. He loves it here. He was willing to put his life at risk for Skye. I had to make the offer, but more because I’d beat myself up over it, if I hadn’t.”

“I’m sure Rogers and Barnes would welcome him to their group with no second thought”, Coulson told him and Loki just shrugged, before getting up, as Coulson did.

“Like I said, don’t hesitate to call if you think, really believe, something is impossible to get out of. I cannot promise anything, but I’ll try my absolute best to help all of you.”

He nodded to them and then Coulson led him down the hall into the med bay where Trip and Skye were in two different quarantine areas, chatting idly. When Coulson and Loki stepped into the room, Skye looked at them almost immediately.

“Agent Skye, I’m so…”, Loki started.

“Thank you”, she stopped him and Loki looked surprised at her. “I believe you, when you say it was the only way and not just some cruel trick. You may be the trickster, but you’re not a total arse.”

“Thanks”, Loki answered with a chuckle.

“So you don’t know if I’ll be alright, right?”

“No, sorry, I cannot assure such things.”

“Can’t even check with your weird magic voodoo?”

Loki laughed at that and Skye smiled a little. He then pointed to her phone. “I’m just a call away, if you ever need someone to talk to, even if it’s about shitty ass fathers, believe me, I know _all_ about those.”

“Thanks.” Loki nodded and then stepped back as one of the doctors comes in, Simmons at his side.

“Good thing, Trip, you’re all clear, just like Loki said.”

His door opened with a hiss and Trip carefully stepped outside.

“So, whatever happened, doesn’t seem to affect everyone”, Trip stated.

“Yes”, confirmed Simmons.

“We got lucky this time”, Coulson said.

“You missed an amazing pun opportunity there, Sir”, Loki told him and Skye snickered slightly. “Alright. If I need to deliver things here, I got an amazing husband, that would literally buy the moon for me, if I asked, or at least he’d try, not the point. Skye, sorry, _Agent_ Skye, again, if you need anything, don’t hesitate to call. I really should leave. Being up this long isn’t doing my partner and me any good.”

Loki nodded to the Agents in the room and then looked to Coulson to at least pretend to escort him to the door.

They all thought that destroying the Obelisk had started the Earthquake, but in Loki’s second dream, the crystals had been destroyed and the world had not been shaking… yet. When Skye broke free in the third dream was when the shaking had started. It ended up destroying most of the temple and besides Loki’s predictions, it was still a relief, hearing they’d found her alive.

“Wait up”, Trip shouted behind them and Loki turned surprised, while Coulson seemed absolutely confident, about what would happen. “You said S.H.I.E.L.D. liaison, right? Does that come with meeting the Avengers and going on a few missions? And can I still talk to these guys?”

Loki laughed, a little relieved, tension falling from his shoulders. “Pack your bags, Agent Triplett, I’ll be taking you back to New York with me.”

“I think at this point, you can actually start calling me Trip.”

“Well then, welcome aboard, _Trip_. And call me Loki.”

“Happy to be here, Loki.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thankfully I set a higher minimum word count for Act 4...
> 
> Happy Birthday to me 🥳


End file.
